


Lion's Den

by kuki



Series: Lion's Den [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Communication Failure, Drug Use, Drug Withdrawal, Forced Prostitution, Gang Rape, Human Trafficking, I promise there are good things that happen eventually, Improper Use of Firearms, Keith and Shiro are Siblings, Kidnapping, M/M, Mutual Non-Con, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Nonverbal Communication, Organized Crime, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Prostitution, Public Sex, Rough Sex, Sex Club, Tags Contain Spoilers, Tags May Change, This is some messed up crap, Torture, Trauma Recovery, mute character, scary tags are scary, take the tags seriously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-21
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-10-10 05:37:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 40
Words: 68,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10430292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuki/pseuds/kuki
Summary: Lance was hopelessly in love with his childhood friend Keith, who had been missing since they were 15.  Keith's older brother, Shiro, and another boy, Matt, had gone missing while searching for him only a few months after Keith. Most of the town had written off the kids that disappeared without a trace, but Lance tried to be optimistic.Home from his first year of college on semester break, Lance gets reunited with Keith in the least desirable way possible.





	1. Debt

**Author's Note:**

> I'm really excited about this story, and have been working on it for a while. It was really emotionally exhausting to write because of how dark the content is for the majority of the story, but I hope that you guys enjoy it as much as I enjoy telling it. It's the darkest thing I've ever written, which is saying a lot because most of the shit I write is dark. I promise, good things will happen to these boys. There will be a happy ending.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy the pain.

He looked out the window as his younger sister drove. It had only been a few months that he had been across the country at college, but Lance’s home town seemed so different. Different businesses on the main strip, people he didn’t know glancing at the car as it passed. Lance used to think he knew everyone, not anymore though.

“I have to ask, are you seeing anyone at school?” His sister asked, just as they passed a house that had been sitting abandoned for almost three years.

Lance glanced over at her and sighed. “I was seeing someone for a while, but it didn’t work out. She was a little…”

“Just one?”

“There were a few others that I just hooked up with, but I’m sure you don’t want details on that.” He grinned at her and she wrinkled her nose in disgust. It was a lie, but she didn’t need to know that he said it just to see that disgusted look on her face.

His eyes went to the house again though, sighing as his grin faded.

“Oh, so you’re still not over him, huh?” Her eyes were filled with pity and he hated it. “He’s been gone for what, four years? You need to move on.”

“I know.” Lance looked at her again. “What about you, are you seeing anyone?”

“What?”

“I’m your big brother. I have to give them some kind of threatening speech about respecting you or something.” Lance’s smile had returned and his sister just scoffed before talking about a girl she had a crush on at school.

Once they got home, Lance’s two other sisters ran in to hug him tightly. He let out a choked sound as they squeezed him hard enough to knock the air out of him. His mother laughed as she came into the entryway.

“Let your brother go! He’s had a long flight!” She yelled at her daughters, who pouted as they let him go.

As their mother pulled Lance into a hug, his sisters whined. “No fair, you just wanted him for yourself!”

“It’s good to see you sweetheart.” His mother was smiling at him brightly. “I’m making your favorite for dinner.”

“I missed you mama, and it smells great.” He took a big sniff as he smiled back at her.

She pulled him in for another hug then went back to the kitchen without another word. Lance looked at the oldest of his sisters, who just shrugged.

“Where’s Dad?”

“He’s been working a lot of overtime lately, he should be home soon though.”

The other two jumped at him again, grabbing him and pulling him into the living room to tell them all about what they had been up to while Lance was away at college. The oldest girl laughed at the sight, shaking her head when Lance looked at her hoping that she would save him.

His sisters were still rambling on when his father came into the house about an hour later. He greeted his son with a tired smile as he plopped down in his armchair. Lance smiled at him, but turned back to his sisters when they complained he wasn’t paying attention.

Over dinner, Lance got to ramble on about his new friends, his roommate, his classes, his clubs. His entire family looked at him fondly as he went on and on about all the stupid stuff he had caught his roommate doing around campus or how much of an asshole his calculus professor was.

His mother hugged him for a long time before she went to bed, which he was confused by. The look on his father’s face when he said goodnight confused him more. Lance shook off the odd feeling as he went into his room, pulling up his computer to message his best friends from high school to try to hang out sometime in the next few days. They agreed to meet Friday afternoon at Lance’s house.

The weird feeling continued as the week went on. His mother was being overly affectionate and his father was being uncharacteristically distant. There was a sticky note on the fridge every day that he found when he finally got out of bed. The little heart at the end made him uneasy. Lance’s sisters didn’t seem to notice, so Lance thought that maybe it was just because his parents weren’t used to having him home anymore.

There was a knock on the door Friday afternoon and Lance opened it. A smile spread across his face when Hunk and Pidge were standing on his porch, looking exactly like he remembered them. Hunk smiled back at him and pulled him into a bon breaking hug. Lance hugged him back.

Pidge looked at him, adjusting her glasses. “It’s good to see you Lance.”

“You too!” Lance moved out of the doorway once Hunk finally released him so they could come inside.

Hunk talked mostly about his new girlfriend, Shay, and his cooking club. Pidge talked about her engineering classes, calling them easy. Lance told them about everything. They were all smiling and laughing as they listened intently to each other’s account of the last few months. The three of them skyped and texted occasionally, but it wasn’t the same as sitting in Lance’s room and pushing each other over.

They were laughing about a memory from high school when the front door opened. Lance’s mom was home. Lance let out a sigh and the other two looked at him strangely. In high school Lance always ran out of the room to greet his mother cheerfully when she came home from work.

“They’ve been acting weird since I’ve been home.” Lance shrugged, not looked at his friends.

“I mean, they’re parents, it’s kind of what they do.” Pidge shrugged, her eyes closing as she took a deep breath. “Mine have been surprisingly chill. Dad didn’t even ask where I was going when I left today. All through the semester they were constantly calling me. I don’t think I went a day before fall break without talking to my mom. It’s weird.”

Lance glanced at Pidge and nodded slightly. “They were just worried about you.”

“I know, I know.” Pidge adjusted her glasses again. “I understand that they’re scared of losing me, like they lost Matt.”

Hunk put a hand on her shoulder and Lance closed his eyes. “The case isn’t closed. They’re still looking for him, and the Shiroganes.”

There was a lump in his throat at the second mention. The Shirogane siblings, orphaned then lost. Keith disappeared first and then his older brother disappeared with Matt while they were looking for him. It had been years.

“Keith…” He’d been one of their friends. Temperamental, always getting into trouble, had stupid hair. Lance wished they had gotten a chance to go on at least one date with him. He wished more that he knew what had happened to him.

Before any of them could say anything else, they all jumped at the loud, angry knocking on the front door. There were frantic footsteps going to the door and the banging didn’t stop until the door opened.

The three couldn’t make out the words, but two different male voices were saying something, and his mother sounded pitiful as she tried interrupting them. Lance’s heart was jumping into his throat as he stood up. He glanced at his friends, who shook their heads at him as he left the room.

When he walked down the stairs, he saw two men in purple suits crowding his mother against the door. The words coming out of their mouths made his blood boil.

“Excuse me, what are you doing?” The anger in his voice was obvious as he gripped the railing of the staircase tightly.

The two men turned to look at him, grins on their faces. Lance’s eyes went to the symbol embroidered on their ties. The Galra gang, one of the most powerful and elusive gangs in the country. They had a large presence in their little town, which was only a few minutes from the main city they operated out of. He started shaking in fear as one of them started walking towards him.

“Boss said you took the loan out to put a brat through college, this him?” The one was standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking into Lance’s eyes. Lance’s eyes went to his mother who looked away with shame. “I asked you a question ma’am.”

“Yes.” Her voice quivered as the other man moved even closer to her.

“Stay away from her.” Lance’s words came out as a whisper instead of with the threatening tone he had hoped for. He tensed when both just laughed at him.

“Your parents made a deal kid, and they’ve been late on their payments for two months in a row.” The one in front of him tsked, shaking his head. “And they agreed that if they couldn’t pay us back with cash, they’d have to work it off.”

Lance was still staring at his mother. “Mama? Why…”

She glanced up at him, tears in her eyes. “We wanted you to go to college, have a better life, but we didn’t have the money…”

He looked away, tears coming to his eyes. His parents were so stupid.

“Come on missus, you better come with us, or else the next people the boss sends won’t be as nice.” The man licked her face and she whimpered slightly.

“Don’t, she’s not going anywhere.” Lance looked at the man in front of him, the fire back in his voice. The man opened his mouth to say something. “Take me, I’ll work off the debt.”

His mother shouted, repeatedly telling him no and swearing in Spanish. The man took his chin, turning his face to appraise him. “Okay. You’ll probably be more popular with the clientele than the old slut you call a mother.”

Lance instinctively swiped the man’s hand off of him. The man glared at him before slapping him hard enough to send Lance falling back against the stairs.

“You better check that attitude, kid.” The man grabbed his arm, pulling him up roughly. “Now, say goodbye to your mother. It’s going to be a while before you see her again.”

“Lance, you can’t do this!” His mother ran towards him as soon as the other man was out of her space. She was crying. Lance didn’t say anything as he hugged her.

Once he let her go, he looked at the two men. There was a hand gripping his arm again as they left the house. Lance didn’t turn to look back at the house, but he hoped that his friends would understand. And that he’d see them and his little sisters again soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have several chapters already written, so they'll be up in a timely fashion of sorts.
> 
> This will also be primarily focused on Lance and his terrible experiences, but if you guys are interested (because you're mega masochists) I could do a series of works with each focusing on Keith, Shiro, and/or Allura as well. Doing this would somewhat affect how complicated I can get with plot, but would also push back the recovery part of the the happy ending to a separate work.


	2. Marked

“So, where exactly are we…” Lance asked as he was manhandled into the car, the windows were almost completely blacked out. The one that had been holding his arm, shut the door and hit him in the face. As Lance opened his mouth to protest, the man took both of his hands and the other man wrapped a zip tie around them, tight.

“You need to keep your mouth shut.”

“I came with you willingly, you don’t need to…” He fell into one of the men when the other hit him again.

“Standard procedure.” The one he fell into righted him and then tied something around his eyes. Lance sat back between them, his bound hands resting on his legs. He bit his lips, trying to keep from saying anything.

They had been driving for a while, the two men talking quietly across him. He tried to drown them out as he thought about Pidge and Hunk and his sisters. He already missed them so much.

The hot, wet feeling of someone’s breath on his neck made him snap out of his thoughts as he tensed up.

“You think we could get a few rounds with him before we drop him off with the prince?”

Lance smacked at the hand inching up his leg. “Get off me.”

“He’s probably a virgin.” The other one said with a scoff, taking Lance’s wrists. “The boss will have our heads if we ruin that.”

“Maybe we could use this mouth of his at least though.” Lance felt fingers at his mouth and heard a zipper being pulled down. He tried to wriggle out of their grips, but kept his mouth shut tightly.

“Careful, he might bite it off.” The one that had his hands laughed, tightening the zip tie even tighter.

“No he won’t.”

He stopped moving, feeling something cold and sharp on his neck. “If you kill me…”

“But I could rough you up a little and tell the boss you tried to escape. You’re property now kid.” The knife dug into his neck, but thankfully not enough to make a cut.

“He reminds me of that little Spitfire at the Den.” There were hands pulling at his hair now.

“Yeah, but that little whore is so used up, this one is shiny and new.” A tongue was working its way behind his ear and the knife was leaving his neck. “Not for long though. The boss is a sucker for blue eyes.”

Lance shut his eyes tightly, the blindfold starting to get damp with his tears.

“We’re almost there, we wouldn’t have to time finish with him anyway.” He relaxed slightly as he felt himself be released completely. The two men started insulting each other.

It didn’t take long before the car came to a stop and engine turned off. As he was being pulled out of the car again, he felt like he was going to throw up. Even as the two men were grabbing at him, he tried to think of anything but was in store for him, but standing outside of… wherever he was, it was too real.

“I-I… I’m going to…” He tried to keep his feet planted as the two men pulled him forward.

“Shut up, and keep moving. Like you said, you came willingly.” The grip on his arm tightened.

“No, I’m going to…” He fell to the ground as he was hit again. As rough hands were pulling him up, he threw up. The hands dropped him, right in the mess he had made on the ground. Both men were making retching noises and fighting over who was going to pick him up now.

“That hag’s going to clean and mark him anyway before she presents him to the prince.” Lance was being pulled up by the back of his shirt, the collar digging into his neck and choking him. He wanted this nightmare to be over, but he didn’t think, even if his debt was paid, they’d ever let him go.

He was checked out during the next few minutes. His now dirty clothes fell away from him as someone was cutting them off. A shrill female voice was making inquiries of the two men, who seemed scared as they answered.

Finally the blindfold came off and he looked at the woman in front of him. She didn’t say anything as her eyes roamed his naked body. More rough hands were on him, moving him under too hot of water.

The woman’s eyes met his and she smiled. Her hand came up under his chin. “Blue. You’ll be Baby Blue.”

He shrugged out of her grip and she only grinned more. “Are you a virgin?”

“They said you were a talker, did we break you already?”

“Yes, I’m a virgin. Does it really make a difference? I won’t be for long, will I?” He glared at her.

“No, but that first time, that first time will get us quite a taking.”

“And if I was lying? Would you still sell me as one?” Lance tried to put his hands, which were still bound, down to cover himself, but she grabbed his wrists and pulled him out of the water.

“You only lie to Haggar once.” She ran a sharp nail down his face. “Now, take a seat Baby Blue.”

She shoved him into a metal chair and picked up something from the table. He glanced over and had no idea what it was, but it was making a terrifying buzzing noise. Haggar put one hand on the back of his head, forcing him to turn away, while she put the tip of the thing on his shoulder.

The prickling pain told him what it was. The men that had taken him said that he needed to be marked. It was a tattoo gun. Tears came to his eyes as the needle of the gun continued digging into his shoulder. He couldn’t help the whimpering sounds that were coming out of his mouth.

“You could have just let them take your mother.” Haggar whispered in his ear.

The Spanish that started spilling out of his mouth was completely out of his control and tried to moved away from her, but two men ran towards him to hold him into the chair. He struggled slightly, the needle moving away from his skin.

“That mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble, Baby Blue.” Haggar moved around to look him in the eyes. He tensed, looking back at her as he stopped babbling. “You’re going to be fun to break.”

“And if I don’t break?”

“There’s only one person I haven’t broken yet, and he’s the most popular of my boys.” Haggar grinned at him, taking his chin again. “Nothing to say to that?”

After she finished marking him and put a robe around him. He looked down at the ground, not saying anything, even when he heard someone come into the room. “My little Princess is going to be showing you around. It took a while to break her too.”

A knife cut the binding around his hands and he brought his hands up to rub at the welts on his wrists. A soft hand touched his gently and he looked up to see a girl about his age smiling at him sadly.

“Come on.”

Lance wanted to cry while looking at this Princess. He didn’t say anything as he followed her, knowing that Haggar and her goons were still looking at him.


	3. Spitfire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it's official, we're doing a series of these painful things. "Made to be Broken", "Ruins of Altea", and "Regretting My Regrets" will be three of the four other titles.

“So, what’s your name?” The girl Haggar had called Princess asked. “The name she gave you…”

“Baby Blue.” He sighed, looking around as they walked down a hall lined with door. Lance managed to look in one, seeing nothing but a bed and a display case. A shiver ran down his spine when he tried to imagine what could be in the case.

“We don’t call each other by our real names, it’s…” She stopped walking and turned towards him.

It made sense. By not even using their real names with each other, they could pretend whatever happened wasn’t happening to them. “These where we… uh… do business?”

Her eyes went dark as she stared at him. “How’d you end up here?”

“My parents took out a loan, to put me through college and they couldn’t pay.” Lance fidgeted with the ties of the robe he was wearing. “They were going to take my mom.”

“You’ll fit in around here. We all take care of each other.” She smiled and put her hand on his shoulder. “Well, except Spitfire. Whenever he gets in trouble, we all suffer.”

“Everyone keeps mentioning this Spitfire, but…” Lance bit his lip, hating that he was getting compared to someone that made life worse for the rest of the people here.

“Well, you’re meet him soon. He’s practicing right now, and the theater is the next stop on the tour.” She put an arm around his shoulders, pulling him along.

The hall emptied into a large room with bar on the back wall and a large stage in the center. There was someone moving around the pole, wearing almost no clothing.

“Before we take any clients, we put on shows here to get them interested…” Princess said, her eyes on the man on the stage. “That’s Spitfire.”

Lance’s eyes went wide when the man turned towards them. His pale skin covered in scars and bruises. He was skinnier than he had ever been and it brought tears to Lance’s eyes. The mullet and defiant look in his eyes were exactly the same as he remembered.  “Keith.”

It was barely a whisper, but Princess looked at him. “You know him…”

Keith stopped moving when his eyes landed on Lance, his mouth going a slack as he stared. He only moved when a male sitting at the edge of the stage yelled.

“Spitfire, you can’t be exhausted already. Just because you’re the star doesn’t mean you don’t have to work just as hard as everyone else.” The man hit something against the edge of the stage that made a loud crackling noise. Princess and Keith both flinched at the sound.

Biting his lip, Keith moved his eyes towards the man. His eyes narrowed down him as he moved to get off the stage. “Sorry, I got distracted.”

The man turned around and grinned when he saw Lance standing next to Princess. He motioned them over, and Lance tensed up.

Princess pushed him slightly. “Lotor, sir, I was just showing around our newest…”

Lotor ran a finger down Lance’s face and all Lance wanted to do was turn his head and bite it off. “Baby Blue, right? I look forward to the two of us _getting to know_ one another.”

Keith stepped up beside Lotor, putting a hand on the older man’s arm. “Am I supposed to keep practicing, or are you too busy now?”

Something flared in Lotor’s eyes as he turned to Keith. He grabbed Keith by the hair, but the boy barely flinched, even as he was being throw to the ground roughly. There was still some of Keith’s hair in Lotor’s hand as he turned back to Princess. “When you’re done with the tour, leave him in my office.”

Lance swallowed hard as Princess nodded. Keith was looking up at him, and he couldn’t keep himself from looking at him again as Princess pulled out of the room. He forced himself to look away when Lotor had his hands around Keith’s neck, pulling him off the ground while growling.

Lance leaned against the wall, wrapping his arms around himself, once they were in another hallway, this one separated from the theater by a door. Princess was staring at him, her face unreadable.

“This isn’t how I wanted to see him again.” He shut his eyes tightly as he felt tears coming to his eyes. For four years Keith had been fighting for his life in the hell hole that Lance now found himself in. That sick feeling from earlier was coming back.

“Were you two friends?” Her hand was on his shoulder again.

“Yeah, and rivals, and more. We’d known each other forever, always trying to outdo each other at everything. The day he disappeared, we were going on our first official date.” Lance took a few centering breaths before opening his eyes. Hers were as blue as his.

“Has he always had a problem with authority?”

Scoffing, Lance glanced towards the doors that were separating him and Princess from Keith and Lotor. “Yeah, yeah he has.”

With a small nod, Princess pulled him away from the wall and finished the tour. Their room was long, filled with dirty looking cots. There were about a dozen other men and women sitting on their respective beds. Names were on signs above the beds, so Lance would be able to learn names quickly, but none of them looked up at them as Princess walked him to the end, motioning to the last bed. It didn’t have a name above it, but the bed next to it was Spitfire’s, Keith’s. Princess’s was across the room.

“There are a few pieces of clothing in the chest, but I… you might want to wait to put anything on until after you’ve seen Lotor.” Princess pointed at the chest between the bed and wall. “You’ll get costumes for… but they’re stored in the dressing room…”

Lance nodded, letting out a high pitched noise of panic. She showed him the bathroom, another communal area with no doors or curtains for privacy on any of the stalls. The kitchen, the dance room, the dressing room, and finally Lotor’s office.

He swallowed hard as he stood outside the door. Princess was talking to him, but he was too terrified to listen. She knocked on the door, but there was no answer.

“Wait inside. Don’t sit down and don’t touch anything.” Princess didn’t look at him as she said it, and that definitely didn’t calm his nerves. She opened the door, and started walking away without another word.

Lance looked into the room. There was a desk with paperwork in the center, a plush chair behind it. Two hard wooden chairs were positioned in front of it. On the wall behind were a variety of knives, guns, and whips in a locked case. As he walked inside, he noticed a hook on the ceiling in the back-left corner. There was a dark stain underneath. Along the left wall was a table with toys, all of which looked like they had never been cleaned.

He was turning to run out of the room and be sick again, but Lotor was in the doorway, with a tight grip in Keith’s hair again. Lance’s heart sank as he looked at Keith.

The other boy was naked now, his cock looked painfully hard, a mixture of cum and blood was dripping down his leg, and there was a tattoo on the inside of his hip. Lance assumed it matched the new one on his shoulder. Despite everything, Keith was struggling against the stronger man’s grip on him, his face contorted in defiance.

“Baby Blue.” Lotor’s words were smooth and made Keith’s eyes move to Lance, and he immediately stopped struggling. “Give me a hand with this will you, then we can talk.”

“Wait, don’t… you can’t…” Keith started, but Lotor only pulled at his hair harder.

“The hand cuffs and the ball gag please.” Lotor smiled at Lance as he motioned to the table of toys. Lance nodded slightly as he turned back to the table. He had to tell himself that things would be worse for both him and Keith if he didn’t do as Lotor said.

He looked at Keith apologetically as he walked over to them with the requested items. Keith smiled at him.

“It’s okay.” Keith whispered to him, tears welling in his eyes. He held out his arms towards Lance as Lotor took the ball gag, putting it in Keith’s mouth with no care. Lance’s hands were shaking as he tightened the cuffs around the other boy’s wrists.

Once they were tightened, Lotor released Keith’s hair and instead took him by his bound wrists. He pulled him over to the hook, looping the chain of the cuffs up over it. Keith’s feet were a few inches off the ground and his breath hitched around the gag as Lotor turned back to Lance with a smile.

“Baby Blue, let’s discuss what exactly you’ll be doing here, in the immediate future.” Lotor said as he sat at his desk, his hands folding together over the piles of paperwork.

Lance looked away from Keith, who was pointedly not looking at his former friend. He took a deep breath as he walked over to stand in front of the desk. The look on Lotor’s face made his skin crawl.


	4. Other Uses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why do I decide that I should update the emotionally draining fic before bed?
> 
> I apologize in advance.

As Lotor explained chore rotations, for cleaning and cooking and other domestic things, Lance kept glancing at Keith, how looked like he was about to pass out. His heart sank with every glance, but he couldn’t stop looking, hoping that if he looked over enough he’d find out that he was hallucinating.

“Now, as for your other _duties_ …” Lance’s gaze snapped to Lotor at the words, a paniced shiver running down his spine. “You will start those tomorrow night.”

There was a lump in his throat as he nodded, but he didn’t say anything.

“Your first show, you’ll be… performing with a partner.”

“What? What do you mean?” There was panic growing as he took a step closer.

“I want the most people to benefit from you…” Lotor made an obscene popping noise and Lance started to shiver with panic. The grin on Lotor’s face only made the panic worse.

Lance was going to lose his virginity on a stage in front of who knows how many people. He wanted to be sick, but he just started spouting objections. In his panicked state, he barely noticed Lotor yelling at him. The only thing that snapped him out of his babbling, which had turned to Spanish, was the loud cracking noise that had Keith and Princess panicked earlier.

He blinked at Lotor, who was glaring at him angrily. “I-I… I’m sorry…”

Lotor didn’t say anything, but he motioned for Lance to come closer with a single finger. When Lance didn’t immediately react, the cracking noise happened again as Lotor smacked whatever was in his hand on the desk again. Lance moved around the desk and next to Lotor as quickly as he could, his heartbeat pounding in his ears.

He closed his eyes when Lotor untied the robe and pushed it off. The man wasn’t saying anything, but Lance could feel his hands roaming over his body. All he wanted was for it to stop, but he knew there wasn’t really anything he could do. At least he wasn’t strung up like... _Keith_.

As a pining teenager, this wasn’t how he envisioned him and the other boy being naked in the same room together. He couldn’t help but wonder if Keith was looking at him, even if it only made him feel more ill.

A small surprised came out of his mouth when he felt Lotor’s hand on his cock. He bit his lip when he heard Lotor start laughing.

“You’re half hard Baby Blue. Is it the anticipation of what I’m going to do to you that got you like this… Or was it seeing my little Spitfire all used and strung up?”

Lance’s eyes sprung open and he glared at Lotor. “I’m not… it isn’t… you… this isn’t…”

Lotor was laughing again, his gaze going past Lance and to where Keith was still hanging. He whistled and Lance turned to look at Keith, who was looking down. Keith was about as hard as Lance was. “Looks like Spitfire likes what he sees on you too. Maybe he’ll like it even more to see me put your mouth to better use.”

As Lance opened his mouth to protest, he was being pushed on his knees roughly. He could hear Keith trying to shout around the gag, struggling against his restraints. Lance tried to keep his eyes off the bulge in Lotor’s pants as his face was being shoved closer and closer.

Lance didn’t actually hear what Lotor was telling him as he reached a hand out and released the man’s erection from his pants. Another shiver went down his spine as the fingers entwined in his hair gripped at his scalp harder. After a deep breath, he opened his mouth and started to slowly wrap his lips around the dick in front of him. He made a choking sound when his face was push forward, forcing him to deep throat the cock. Lotor let out a disgustingly contented moan, not taking his hand away.

He wasn’t given a chance to get used to the feel of the dick in his mouth, of the uncomfortable stretch of his throat. Lotor pulled his head back and then thrust it forward again. Tears fell from Lance’s eyes as the man continued to face fuck him.

There was no warning as Lotor thrusted into his mouth hard, his hips twitching as he spilled his disgusting seed into Lance’s throat. Lance made more choking noises as he tried to struggle against Lotor’s grip.

“Swallow.”

The word was harsh and the order was impossible. Lance was going to throw up. But he closed his eyes tightly and somehow managed to swallow most of the cum, some spilling out the sides of his mouth and dripping down his chin.

Once Lotor released him, Lance pulled his mouth off Lotor’s now limp dick. He fell onto all fours as he coughed and sobbed slightly. Lance barely registered the foot kicking at his rib cage, trying to move him a little farther away.

“That really is better use of your mouth, but maybe we need a second opinion.”

Lance froze then slowly looked up at Lotor, who was looking directly at Keith. Keith was looking at Lotor defiantly.

“Get up Blue, see if Spitfire thinks that your mouth was made for cocks and not talking too.” He jabbed at Lance’s ribs with his foot again. Lance started getting off the floor, but stopped when Lotor snapped again. “Actually, I want to watch you crawl over to him.”

Lance didn’t look up at Keith when he finally knelt in front of him. The little noises of interest coming from the man in the chair made him want to start crying, but he just tried to focus on the semi-hard dick in front of him. He tried to forget who’s dick it was, but it was hard when he had only thought about having it in his mouth so many time as a teen.

The noise that managed to escape around the ball gag as Lance pressed his lips to Keith’s dick made Lance painfully hard. He tried not to think too hard about it, about that this should’ve been intimate, that it was _Keith_. After having Lotor’s frankly monstrous dick in his mouth, this one was easy. Going at his own pace, he chanced a look up at Keith. The other boy looked completely wrecked as he looked down at Lance.

“Stop.” Lotor’s voice bellowed around them and Lance stopped moving, but kept his mouth around Keith’s cock. “Spitfire isn’t allowed to cum.”

Lance released Keith from his mouth, making the bound man whimper pitifully around the gag. He looked up to see tears pooling at the corners of his eyes. Keith must’ve been close.

“But, there are a few people that I think should get a voice in the uses of your mouth.”

After four more cocks and even two pussies, Lance laid on the floor at Lotor’s feet, trying to keep himself from puking right there. Lotor was saying something about the praises that they had all given his mouth, but Lance was tuning him out.

He didn’t put any of his attention on the man again until he was being pulled off the floor and thrown in one of the wooden chairs.

“Now, watching you go at those dicks… I’m hard again.” Lotor was walking towards Keith, who was shaking with the effort of breathing. Lance’s eyes went wide and he stood up.

“No, wait, you… don’t…” Lance looked at Keith who shook his head slightly.

“You’ll need to learn, Baby Blue.” Lotor moved behind Keith, his one hand roaming over the scarred skin. The sound of Lotor’s zipper dropping again was deafening in the room. Keith winced as Lance watched the dick that had previously been in his mouth enter Keith’s ass. Lance was going to throw up so hard when he had the chance.

The words that were coming out of Lotor’s mouth only made Lance’s nausea worse. He wanted to look away, but the man was staring right at him. Something told him that if he didn’t watch this, there would be extreme consequences that he didn’t want to learn about.

Lotor halted suddenly and pulled out with a sickening pop. Lance thought it was over, but he could see that the man was still very hard. “Come here Baby Blue.”

It took everything Lance had to follow the order. He didn’t look at Keith as he stood next to him. For a moment he thought that Lotor was going to make him rape Keith, but the look on the man’s face didn’t read that he was done with him yet. “Y-Yes?”

“I forgot to make sure that our little Spitfire couldn’t come. I’m going to need your help.” Lotor grinned at him wickedly. He walked over to the table and picked up a ring. Lance stared down at it after Lotor put it in his hands. “That goes at the base of his cock.”

“I-I…” Lance looked up at Lotor and shivered in fear. He nodded and put it on Keith’s cock with shaking hands. Keith made a choking sound as Lance’s hands were on him. His breathing was irregular and Lance was worried about him, in so many ways.

“There we go.” Lotor huffed in Keith’s ear before repositioning himself.

Lance stayed where he was while Lotor finished inside Keith. His eyes were locked with Keith’s the entire time and he wasn’t sure why he couldn’t look away. All he wanted to do was caress the other boy’s cheeks, but he couldn’t force himself to move even if he thought the move wouldn’t get him punished.

Once Lotor was finally finished, there was the pop again and it made Lance retch. He tucked himself back in his pants. After smacking Keith’s ass, he reached up and lifted the chain of the handcuffs off the hook. Keith dropped to the floor with a thud and a pained grunt when Lotor let the chain go.

Lance moved to lean down, check on Keith, but Lotor’s hand on his shoulder stopped him. He looked up at Lotor, fire in his eyes.

“You’re free to go back to the barracks. Tonight you’ll be helping at the bar, just to give everyone a little preview for tomorrow.” Lotor was grinning at him and Lance opened his mouth to protest. “I’m not quiet done with him yet.”

Lance turned away and picked up the robe that had been discarded what was probably several hours prior. He put it on. Looking back at Keith as he left was a terrible idea, not when he couldn’t do anything for his high school sweetheart.

He rushed past Princess when he got into the barrack, heading into the bathroom. Once he was in the bathroom, he knelt in front of one the toilets, retching until everything he had been forced to swallow spilled out and into the toilet. When he was sure his stomach was empty, he curled up on the floor, letting himself cry without reserve.

Princess sat next to him, a gentle hand on his shoulder. She didn’t say anything as he cried.


	5. Quota

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter isn't quiet as heavy as the last one, so there's that.

Lance laid on his new bed, staring at the bed that should have been Keith’s. Princess had told him to get some sleep before the show that night. He could hear some of the others talking about Spitfire, and guessing that wherever he was he was getting the entire brothel into trouble again. The tiredness that settled over him was immense, but he couldn’t sleep. He’d only been there for a few hours and he could barely imagine how it could get any worse.

He wanted to talk to Keith. It was clear that Lance wouldn’t see Keith again until the show, and then he wouldn’t be able to talk to him, not that there was anything he could really say to the other boy. This was his life now.

“Hey, it’s time to get changed for…” Princess trailed off and he just nodded, not looking up at her. As he got up, he remembered the very limited clothing that Keith had been wearing when they had walked into the theater and shivered. He’d probably be wearing something similar to that behind the bar. “Did you get any sleep?”

“No, not at all.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “How does everyone usually sleep around here.”

“Drugs.” Several of the others said in response to his question. It certainly wasn’t the answer he was looking for.

Haggar walked over to him once he entered the dressing room with Princess, who went over to one of the racks of costumes and slipped off what she was wearing. He ripped her eyes away from her, wondering if he’d ever get used to the idea of seeing so many people naked and so many people seeing him naked.

“Baby Blue, I thought this would be appropriate for your duties tonight.” She held out a pile of… clothing. It was blue. “Prince Lotor also wanted to inform you, that while your ass and your cock aren’t for sale tonight, that mouth of yours is.”

He took the clothing from her and sat it on the dressing table with his name above the mirror. Without a word, he took off the clothes he had put on after his shower, changing into the shiny booty shorts, suspenders, bracelets, and sneakers. Swallowing hard, he glanced at himself in the mirror. There was a bruise on his cheek from where he had been constantly slapped. His eyes found a bottle of concealer on the table next to his. Princess’s table. He and Princess were about the same skin tone.

Haggar smiled behind him, he could see her sickening grin in the mirror, before walking off yelling another name to announce that they were first on the line up. They complained, asking where Spitfire was.

Princess walked over to him, wearing a pastel Princess-Leia-esque bikini. She put a hand on his back, just missing the new tattoo. “You’re going to be okay, at least tonight you’re just serving drinks…”

“And sucking off more dicks than I ever planned to see…” Lance tensed at her touch, looking up at himself in the mirror again. “But I don’t really have anyone else but myself to blame, I guess.”

“Blue…” Her voice was soft and he shrugged out of his touch when he heard one of the men calling his new name too.

“I better go start serving drinks.”

Lance stood awkwardly next to a man in a full suit, a full member of the gang, behind the bar. He just kept looking over at Lance and chuckling between explaining what he’d be doing at the bar. The guy must’ve thought he looked ridiculous.

“They told me you’ve got quite the mouth on you. I mean that you talk a lot…” He rolled his eyes as he put a pour cap onto a bottle. “Talking back here, it’s how they make their buck out of you whores, but be careful what you talk about. Make sure you talk about _them_ , and what you _could_ do for them.”

“Okay, sure, sounds wonderful…” Lance sighed as he leaned against the bar. “In between going and using my mouth for other things.”

“Don’t be a punk, rumor has it that you agreed to this.” The bartender scoffed. “How’s your flirt game? It’s all you’re really going to be doing, to advertise that big mouth of yours.”

“I’ve been told that I’m pretty smooth.” He tried to focus on his flirt-game, it was better than focusing on the taste of the six dicks he had in his mouth earlier.

“Good, though your quota is pretty light.”

“Quota?” Lance’s voice cracked as he stared at the man with wide eyes.

“Yeah, didn’t any one mention it? Ten dicks, three pussies.” He shrugged, picking up a glass to clean it out. “Eating costs more than sucking, why you need less.”

“That’s… that’s…” Lance didn’t know what it was. Frankly, he figured the dicks would be easy. Most of the guys that came to places like this were disgusting pigs that didn’t really care what they were putting their dick in. The woman though, they’d probably take more convincing that he could do it well.

“You better work on those pickup lines a little quicker, they’re opening up the joint.” The man raised his hand to signal to the man at the door to the outside that the bar was ready to go. Lance glanced and saw that the woman standing by the stage did the same. Princess and some of the others were positioned around the walls and the tables.

In the first hour, Lance got three of his ten dicks out of the way. He made his way behind the bar after throwing up, and looked up at the stage. Princess was in the middle of her routine. She was beautiful, the kind of girl he would have hit on under normal circumstances, but the way the men standing by the stage were reaching up to her made him want to go throw up again.

“You like her too? Princess is one of my favorites.” The bartender nudged his ribs with an elbow as he poured a drink. “Too bad she’s usually preoccupied.”

“Preoccupied? By _what_?” Lance scoffed, hating the implication that he was attracted to the way she was basically masturbating on stage.

“She’s the boss’s girl. Zarkon’s got a real thing for her.” The bartender put the drink in the hand of one of the other whores, winking at her before she walked off to hand it to a disgustingly fat man that she immediately sat in the lap of.

“Zarkon…” He glanced over at the two women that walked up to the bar. By the way they were dressed, he could tell they were customers. With a deep breath, he put on his most flirtatious smile and walked over to put the moves on them. He felt slimy as with every disgusting word that came out of his mouth. It paid off, because he got both of them for his quota.

“You keep this up and they’re going to triple your quota next time.” Lance really wished the bartender would stop talking to him.

Another hour passed and he had six out of ten dicks and two out of three pussies. He wasn’t having the same luck as he had been earlier in the night. As two men at the bar brushed him off, he heard them ask each other where Spitfire was.

Keith. It had been a while since Lance had thought of him. He hadn’t seen him once all night. A sinking feeling filled his stomach as he scanned the room again. The bartender asked if he was looking for someone, but he didn’t reply as he walked over to a man that he’d normally find attractive.

Only one more mouth full of cum in another hour and he finally saw Keith. The other boy looked shaky as he walked through the crowd, his eyes focused on the stage. One of the gang members had to help him up onto the stage while another announced Spitfire’s act.

Lance’s eyes were locked on Keith’s body as he moved on the stage. It was obscene, but it wasn’t the same as the small snippet that he had seen earlier. Earlier Keith had been so much more… athletic. Whatever Lotor had done to him, he was too exhausted to do what was probably his normal routine. He felt a shiver run down his spine when Keith noticed him, standing in the back of the room. Their eyes locked and neither of them looked away until Keith’s ‘dance’ ended and he got off the stage.

“So, Spitfire really gets your gears going, huh?” The bartender laughed. Lance didn’t think it was so funny.

Princess walked up to the bar when he got back from having two cocks shoved down his throat at once. She looked like she was about to fall over as she talked to the bartender. He walked a little closer as he wiped his mouth. The bartender handed her a handful of mysterious pills and a shot of pure vodka. After dry swallowing the pills, she downed the shot. Lance wondered if she even knew what all the drugs were.

“How are things…” She asked when she noticed him standing there.

“Things are great. How much longer do… is this place open?” He couldn’t quite look at her. Eventually he’d probably have to start taking the drug cocktails to cope, but he didn’t want it to be anytime soon.

“About another hour… I think… what time is it?” She held her head, glancing at the bartender.

“Yeah, it’s another hour. But the prince just told me the boss is on his way in, so you won’t be getting off- well I’m sure the boss gets you off, you won’t be done for a while.” He grinned at her and Lance just about threw up. Princess tensed, but turned to go back to the floor where someone instantly grabbed her ass and lead her over to the rooms.

Lance finished the night with a surplus of blow jobs, but missing that one last eat out. He almost fell when the last customer walked out and one of the guards locked the front door. The bartender grinned at him as he loosened his tie.

“It was a pleasure working with you Baby Blue. Hell, I’ve never ordered off the boys’ menu before, but once you’re on it, I might just have to take a bite.” He winked at him, and Lance just grimaced.

Princess had disappeared after a very large, imposing man walked in and scooped her up without a word. Haggar had referred to him as ‘milord’ and Lotor had called him father, so Lance only assumed that it was Zarkon. He hadn’t seen Keith since he walked off stage.

One of the other whores, Lance had heard him be called Horse a couple of time throughout the night, walked over and told him that they had the go ahead to go back to the barracks.

Lance sat on his bed, waiting for his turn in the showers. He only had his mouth to wash out, so he could wait for the others to wash their… more intimate areas. One of the girls that was also waiting came and sat on his bed, holding out a syringe filled with a strange colored liquid.

“It’ll help you sleep.”

“I’ll be fine.” Lance looked away from her.

“You might want to get some good sleep tonight. Haggar crossed out Spitfire and Princess’s names and put yours down for their chores tomorrow, along with your own.”

“I’ll be fine.” He repeated, more forcefully this time.

With a nod, she got off his bed. He looked down at where she had been sitting and saw that she had left the syringe. Just in case he changed his mind. Lance moved it onto his chest when got up to get his shower.

He stared at the needle as he laid in his bed, but he never moved to touch it. Despite everything going through his head, he managed to fall asleep. It was a fitful sleep, but his utter exhaustion forced it to be somewhat restful.


	6. The Show

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of the most painful scenes in the entire series, so read with caution.
> 
> Also, we all need fucking counseling. Everyone pick up your phone and make an appointment with a therapist.

Lance opened his eyes, hearing people yelling and movement all around him. He blinked a few times before his new environment came into view. With a groan, he sat up and watched the others moving to get themselves ready, whether that was putting on more clothes or taking some kind of drug. Princess was back, lying in her bed. He wondered how long she had been back and what time was, or what time he had actually went to bed.

Keith’s bed was still empty.

It probably wouldn’t matter whether or not he was there. His name was still listed after three of the chores. He took a deep breath before getting out of the bed and walking over to the person who was also assigned to the chore he was doing for Princess.

By the time, he finished with all three chores, most of the others had moved onto relaxing in the barracks or the ‘lounge’. He had woken up still exhausted, but doing all that manual labor was truly tiring.

Princess was awake when he came into the barracks. It looked like she had just gotten out of the shower. He sat on her bed, not looking at her, or saying anything.

“What?” She practically spat the word at him.

“Nothing, I just… wanted to see if there was anything I could do, like you’ve been doing for me since…” Lance sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry, if I over stepped or something, it just seemed like…”

“Wow, you really don’t shut up, do you?” Princess rolled her eyes, but she smiled at him. “Thank you.”

“No problem, you said that everyone here helps each other, right? Well, I better get on that bandwagon.”

She laughed quietly and silence fell between them for a while before he looked at her again.

“So, since I’m new here, I don’t really know… what’s out of bounds for me to ask about, or talk about? Like can I ask someone how they got here, or complain about the sex? Or talk about our families?”

“Most of that… we try not to talk about that kind of stuff too much.” Princess glanced at a group of people gathered around a plate what was probably cocaine. “We try to pretend that we don’t have to do the sex when we’re not… and we talking about our old lives… none of us are ever going back.”

“That’s… if we can’t at least hope we’re going to get out of here…”

“No, we all hope that we’ll get out, but even if it’s back to the world, we can’t go back to our lives. This place changes you, even if you fight it.” She shrugged. “And most of us, when we get out of here, we’re either sold or killed.”

A nervous shiver ran down Lance. “That’s… that’s pretty harsh.”

“Yeah, that’s the Galra for you. Most people only stay here for about a year before they…” She made a noncommittal gesture for leaving. “I’ve only been here for a few months. Little Pig over there, he’s been here for a little over a year, but…”

“What about K- Spitfire?”

“Four years. He’s been enduring this place for four years. No one knows how he’s survived so long, especially with his attitude.” She looked up at him with a frown. “No one knows anything about him.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right.” He scoffed, closing his eyes as he thought about how easily the other boy had been over looked as they were growing up, right up until he acted out and got himself in trouble. “Is it wrong that I’m glad that I got to see him again?”

“Maybe, but… I don’t know. Are you… are you going to talk to him?”

“I don’t know what to say to him, and I don’t know what I want him to say.” Lance wrapped his arms around his chest. “And at this point, I’m not sure if I’ll see him again. Lotor might just keep him locked up forever.”

Her hand was on his shoulder again. “You will. You’ll get a chance to talk, I’m sure, if it’s what you both want.”

He smiled at her, nodding thankfully. After a little more silence, Princess coaxed him to go to the lounge and join a card game. There was nothing to bet, but it was fun, accusing each other of cheating and of pretending there was something to bet.

Lance had almost completely forgotten what was going to happen to him that night until one of the guards was calling everyone to the dressing room. Apparently Lotor had a special announcement. Probably related to him and… He was going to throw up again. If he ever saw Hunk again, he’d have to apologize to him for every time he had made fun of his easily upset stomach.

Lotor’s announcement was about Lance, and it only made him sicker to know that every other person in the same situation was now looking at him with… pity. He closed his eyes tightly as he listened to the man speak. There was something about a blindfold and ear plugs. It wouldn’t be until it was over that Lance was going to know who was raping him in front of a room full of sex hungry monsters. He wanted to die right there and then.

After Lotor had finished speaking, Haggar came into the room, shoving clothes at Lance again. It was a button down, boxers, and pants. No shoes this time. He was going to almost look normal. As he took off what he had on, he caught sight of Keith. Had the other boy been there the entire time? Lance wasn’t sure, he was too busy feeling dread.

Keith wasn't looking at him as he adjusted the shiny red shorts he was wearing, but Lance had a feeling that Spitfire knew that Baby Blue was watching him

Once he was dressed, Lotor held out a pair of ear plugs. Lance took a deep breath and put them in. Lotor’s grin made him even more uneasy, if that was even possible. The man nodded for Lance to follow him, so Lance did. He refused to look back in the room, afraid of seeing what anyone was thinking, especially Keith or Princess.

Lotor helped him up onto the stage and looked at him. He frowned and started unbuttoning Lance’s shirt, pulling it off of him roughly. Lance could see that he had said something, but couldn’t hear anything. His wrists were grabbed roughly and he was being handcuffed to the pole. It would be hard to get him completely unclothed with long sleeves and cuffed hands.

He looked back at the bartender, who was giving the same signal as the night before, grinning at Lance as he did. Lance closed his eyes tightly. This was really about to happen.

As people came in, Lance could tell they were curious and excited about the entertainment for the night. He glanced at Lotor, who was still on the stage. The man was peering into the crowd, gauging whether or not there were enough people to make it worth it. Some of the other whores were casually sitting with what were probably regulars, insisting that their clients wanted to wait, that they didn’t want to miss the show.

Zarkon came in, and Lotor moved to the front of the stage with a sick grin when his father made himself comfortable with Princess in his lap. Lance could tell that the man was speaking, loudly, but couldn’t make out a single word he was saying. Dread was seeping up inside him, but he tried to keep himself calm. He didn’t want to think what would happen if he made this displeasing for all the disgusting people to watch. Lotor walked over to him and wrapped a blindfold around his eyes. Lance couldn't hear, see, or move very far. It was a sick joke.

There was a dull thrumming of music that he could feel and the panic was building as he stood there, with no way of knowing when someone was finally going to join him on stage and… and… He tried not to sob as tears started to dampen the blindfold.

Lance jumped slightly when there was a hand cupping the back of his neck. Before he could make any sounds, lips were on his. They were demanding, but surprisingly soft, gentle. He groaned against the lips as the body pressed closer. It was a man that was about to rape him, Lance was sure enough once they were chest to chest.

He was panting when the lips left his lips and moved down to suck at his neck and collar bone. Willing himself not to make any noise, he felt the other hand taking off his pants, slowly. The hand cupped his quickly hardening dick through the boxers and he let out a needy whimper.

The lips were at his nipples now, drawing breathy moans and whimpers from him. He hated how good it felt, but his head was getting fuzzy. Gripping the pole tightly, he rocked towards the man biting at his nipples a little harder than what was pleasurable.

He could feel the other man’s dick brushing against him as they rocked towards each other. There was a sick curiosity that wondered if it was one of the guards, or if they were making one of the other whores do it. Was this man making as many sounds as Lance was?

“ _Please_.” He hoped that it was quiet enough that only the man about to rape him could hear. Lance also wasn’t sure what he was begging for. Did he want the man to stop, to hurry up, to be gentle? It didn’t really matter what he wanted, he just repeated himself. “ _Please._ ”

The man stopped playing with his nipples, and kissed him again. It was short and almost chaste. He was moving, a hand barely touching Lance as he ducked under his cuffed hands so he was standing behind him.

Hot breath was on his neck as he was pushed closer to the pole. Lance leaned against the cold metal, closing his eyes tightly behind the blindfold. It was time for the real show, for his ass to be split open.

Hands were on his hips and the grip was tight. There were going to be bruises there if the man held them like that the entire time. Flinching, he could feel the dick rubbing between his cheeks. It was bigger than he thought it was when it was rubbing against his own.

When the tip aligned with his hole, he let out a string of words he wasn’t entirely sure were either of the languages he spoke. He was begging again, and again he wasn’t entirely sure what for as he rambled on.

The words stopped just as suddenly as they began as the tip pushed in and then more. It was quicker than Lance was expecting after the rest of the work up that man had given him. With no small amount of effort, the man’s dick had wedged inside of him with no prep and no lube. Lance couldn’t help that he was full out crying now, tears soaking the blindfold and streaming down his face. It wouldn’t be surprising if Lance was bleeding.

Small kisses were being planted on the back of his neck, but it didn’t change the burning pain of his ass being stretched in a way it shouldn’t have been. It was several seconds before the man started moving. The thrusts were slow and short, and they hurt. Lance screamed out pleas for him to stop with every movement, his voice quickly going hoarse.

Slowly, the pain ebbed away and his dick was twitching with pleasure. The precome leaking from the dick buried deep inside of him was starting to be enough for the man to thrust into him purposefully. It still hurt and Lance still hated it, hated the person whose dick was doing this to him.

He saw stars and let out what was probably the most pleasured moan he ever had when the man’s cock hit a certain spot inside of him. The man hit the same spot a few more times and it had Lance pleading again, this time to keep hitting that spot.

Without any warning, the man was pulling out. He whimpered when he felt the head pull at his the rim of his ass when it exited. Hands were roughly pushing him to the ground, turning him so he was on his back. His arms were twisted, and it was painful, but he was distracted by lips colliding with his. This kiss was sloppy and needy.

Hands were spreading his legs and he moaned into the mouth on his when the dick was pushing back into him. Once the man was inside of him, he seemed to be on a mission to find that spot again. Lance didn’t mind much as he felt hands roaming over his chest.

His head fell back as he felt a hand on his cock. The pressure on his dick and the constant slamming into _that_ spot was going to be too much. The mouth was on his neck again and Lance was saying something in Spanish, it probably made as much sense as anything else he had let spill out of his mouth so far.

Tensing every muscle in his body, Lance came. He came harder than he ever had in his life. Nothing came out of his mouth as he released. When he settled back against the floor of the stage, he felt the man’s forehead rest against his. The sudden change in his pace. Lance figured the man raping him was close to the edge too.

A few more thrusts and suddenly a warm liquid was filling him. It was strange feeling and it made Lance let out a little whimper. The man didn’t pull out once he was finished, but Lance could tell the man was breathing heavily as he pressed down into him.

Lance blinked as the blindfold was suddenly pulled off his head. He looked up at the man that was still inside of him. “No…”

Keith was looking away from him, being held in place by Lotor’s firm hand on his back. Lance repeated himself, making the boy on top of him look down. The guilty look on his face made Lance want to throw up. Lance couldn’t hear him, but he could tell that what was coming out of Keith’s mouth was an apology.

Before Lance could say or do anything else, Keith was being pulled off of him. The angle of Keith’s dick exiting his ass was painful, and Lance cried out in pain. He looked at Keith, who was being handed over to a group of hungry looking men standing close the stage. Keith looked defiant as ever, struggling against Lotor’s grip, then the men who were all but dragging him to where the rooms were. Lotor pulled Lance off the floor next, taking out the ear plugs once he was sure Lance wasn’t going to fall over.

“Now, who wants our little Spitfire’s sloppy seconds? Who wants to be a part of our show tonight? Highest bidder gets to come up here and make sure that Baby Blue gets the true _special treatment_.” Lotor called out into the crowd, who were screaming and raising their hands as they came towards the stage.

Lance couldn’t look out at them though. His focus was on the cum dripping out of his ass. _Keith’s cum_. On the bruises on his hips. _From Keith_. The hickeys covering his neck, chest, and back. _Keith_. Why did it have to be _Keith_? Could it really have been anyone other than him though? He should have known by the kisses, by the reassuring touches. Finally, he had something to say to his childhood friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit added 5/3 at 4am:  
> I have made a realization that somehow manages to make this chapter worse: this happens on Christmas Eve.  
> Lance would have gotten flown in from school sometime between the 17th and 20th (Saturday and Tuesday) based on the 2016 calendar, and he left with the galra goons that Friday, the 23rd, the day before this.
> 
> I'm a terrible person.


	7. Honeymoon Suite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry loves, they don't actually get to talk to each other yet.

Lance tried to keep his eyes and lips closed as he was being pounded from behind by a disgusting man who kept whispering lewd things into his ear. It _hurt_. He had been loosened up by the first time, but without any prep and pace the man was thrusting at, he couldn’t stop himself from sobbing with every hard, deep thrust. With every thrust, he hoped that it would be over soon, that they’d let him get some kind of break before handing him over to someone else.

“No, wait…” Lance cried out when he felt the man’s seed filling him. Keith had just emptied inside him, but he wasn’t sure why it was so different for this man to do it. He made a choked sound as he felt the man lick up his neck before pulling out.

He slumped against the pole, his eyes down at the stage. Lotor was saying something, Lance thought it might have been praise for his performance, but his mind was elsewhere. The cum leaking out of his ass, keeping himself standing, his own oversensitive dick still hard against his stomach. Everything was too much, and it wasn’t over yet.

The handcuffs dropped away, but he didn’t move away from the pole as he focused on Lotor, who was grinning at him. He needed to get off the stage, he had heard that much, but he wasn’t sure he’d be able to move without falling down. Slowly, he managed to get up away from the pole. His gaze went to the puddle of cum on the floor and he instantly moved his eyes away, because he was right about the fact that he was bleeding.

He winced when Lotor slapped his ass, and it took every ounce of his energy not to fall into the puddle of bodily fluids. Hands were reaching towards him as he walked through the crowd and it took everything to not slap the hands away as he walked to where Haggar was waiting for him.

Once he got to her, she led him to that first room he had arrived in. He was shoved under the shower, it was burning hot against his skin. Panic surged through him as he felt his ass cheeks being parted. He couldn’t do it again so quickly, he needed at least a short break.

“Just need to wash you out a little, your next clients will want you to be nice an clean.” Haggar cooed as he long finger spread his ass to let the water get to his sore hole. He whimpered at the sensation.

“I can’t… please, just… I-I…” Lance closed his eyes tightly as he braced himself against the shower wall. “It’s too much, please…”

“Did our little Spitfire break you?”

A shiver went down his spine. He had been doing his best not to think about Keith. A part of Lance wanted to hold onto the other boy tightly, part of him wanted to scream and demand answers, and another part never wanted to see him again.

“Dry off, you’re due in the honeymoon suite in ten minutes.”

Lance heard the door open and shut, but didn’t turn to look to see if he was actually alone before he let himself fall to the ground, on his hands and knees. Despite the burning heat of the water, he was shivering.

He let himself kneel there for a while before he got up and found a towel for him to dry off with. It was rough against his skin, especially against his fresh tattoo. Taking a deep breath, he finally looked towards the door, his eyes going wide when he saw the very large, muscular woman standing by the door.

The bed in the honeymoon suite was large with white sheets. There was a small chest against the wall. Lance took a deep breath when he opened the drawer, finding toys. They were much more vanilla than the toys in Lotor’s office. He didn’t think he could take toys, not on his first day working.

He laid on the bed, waiting for his next client. When he heard the door click open, he tried move himself into what he hoped would be an enticing position. Two people walked in, a woman and man. She was wearing a veil and he had bowtie loosely tied around his neck. Lance couldn’t help but judge them for spending their honeymoon at a brothel.

Lance was covered in cum and his ass was on fire. His dick was so over sensitive from the constant stimulation. The couple were kissing and giggling as they helped each other get dressed. Lance couldn’t move from where he was lying face down on the bed. Everything was sore. There were still a few hours that before this hell was over for the night.

Another woman, just one, was his neck client. She just wanted one round, quickly. After her, Haggar stopped bothering to let him get cleaned up. The rest of the night was blur of dicks and pussies. He was exhausted and felt so ashamed. His throat was hoarse from begging people to stop, for release, for anything.

When the night was finally over, he was face first on the floor of one of the communal sex rooms. He couldn’t move, or speak, or do anything other than cry. Princess found him, yelling his new name.

“Hey, hey…” She pulled him to his feet, surprisingly easily. “Are you… Are you going to be okay?”

He wavered on his feet when she tried to move away from. “Come on, we need to get you a shower.”

She was saying something, something to try to reassure him as she helped him walk.

“Please stop. I don’t want to talk, or listen, or whatever. I just want to… I don’t know what I want, but…”

“Okay, okay.”

“Wait, I need to sit down…” He reached towards his bed as they passed it. She looked at him with a frown. “Are you sure you… you want that all over your bed?”

Lance grimaced, the feeling of cum dripping down his legs ever present. “I need to sit down.”

“Okay.” She let him go, slowly. Princess shooed a few of the others as they looked like they were going to approach them.

“Is… is he back?”

“Who?” She knelt down next to him.

“ _Spitfire_.” He was surprised by how much venom was in his voice when he said it.

“Blue, I’m sorry. I-…”

“Don’t apologize, you had nothing to do with it.” He glared at her, and she looked shocked by the look on his face.

Lance closed his eyes, listening to the quiet conversations happening around him. He couldn’t quite make out specifics, but most of the conversations were either about drugs or him. His eyes opened again when he heard all the conversations stopped. Princess was standing up next to him, turning towards the entrance.

Someone, with clothes on, was standing in front of him, and he had a good guess, but didn’t want to look up at the face to confirm his theory. His throat went dry when Keith’s face came into view.

“Lance.” It was quiet, quiet enough that only the two of them could hear it.


	8. Clean Up

Lance looked away from Keith, his body shaking. “Don’t.”

“H-Have you cleaned up yet?” Keith’s hand touched his shoulder gently. When Lance didn’t react, he gripped his shoulder firmly. The grip made it too real. The touch of his childhood friend, his high school crush, the guy who took his virginity on a stage in front of dozens of people. “Please, I-I…”

“Help me up.” Lance still wasn’t looking at him. If he looked at Keith it would be too much, and he was sure he was going to break completely if he saw his face.

Hands were helping him up again. They were stronger, but gentler than Princess’s. When he was pushed under water, after a few moments of listening to it run, the temperature was perfect. He let out a satisfied whimper when he felt the water touch his skin.

“I’m sorry.” Keith was still close, close enough that the spray of the water was probably getting him wet too. “I didn’t… I didn’t ask…”

“You didn’t ask to rape me?” Lance knew that his choice of words was harsh, but they were the only ones he had.

“When I saw you… I… I just didn’t want you to… and everything got twisted.” Keith was stumbling over his words.

Lance grimaced at the way Keith was talking. The boy had always been the worst when it came to conversations, and being here had only made it worse. Everything he had gone through, how everyone obviously hated him. “What _did_ you ask the prince?”

“I just didn’t want your first time here to be as bad as mine.” Keith’s words were tired and sincere. “When he offered to let me… but he left out some of the details when I agreed. I didn’t want it to be like that.”

Lance finally looked at Keith. The boy was shaking, droplets of blood forming where he was clawing at his own skin. He wasn’t looking at Lance, but Lance thought he might have been crying. Neither of them wanted their reunion to be like this. He sighed as he leaned against the wall. “I’m glad it was you.”

Keith’s eyes were wide as he looked up at him. He nodded, it was a very small movement, but it meant a lot. They were silence between them for a while as Lance just stood under the water.

Lance reached back and groaned in annoyance. There was still cum coming out of his ass. “Seriously, how much more could there be…”

Keith took a few steps closer, almost under the water with Lance. He reached his hand towards Lance’s ass. “M-may I… I promise to be…”

“Yeah, yeah…”

He winced at the first touch of Keith’s fingers at his rim, but he let out a whimper when it slipped inside. Keith’s fingers were wriggling inside of his ass, making Lance whimper with both pain and pleasure. Lance wanted to look at Keith, but he thought that it was a terrible idea.

“I’m so sorry.” Keith said again when his fingers slipped out, drawing out a very loud grunt of pain from Lance. He sounded so frustrated with himself. It was the same tone he used when he talked to Shiro after every detention and suspension. “I wish it hadn’t been like that. I should’ve known that Lotor would twist it.”

“It’s okay.” Lance knew his words were hollow. There was no universe in which what happened was okay. He turned off the water, closing his eyes. “It wasn’t how I envisioned losing my virginity, but… like I said…”

Keith’s hands were rough as he turned Lance around, so they were eye to eye. “You… that was your first time, _ever_?”

Lance’s face felt hot as he blushed. “Yeah. It was hard keeping someone interested when I… when I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

The other boy’s face was suddenly red too as he took a step back. “What? Lance, you never…”

“Hey, you left me high and dry, and I guess it made it impossible to move on.” Lance sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I guess it’s not something you wanted to hear when…”

Keith’s hands were on him again as he was pulling him closer. Their lips were together. It was quick, sloppy. More importantly, Lance knew that it was real.

“You should have moved on. Lance, you… I regret every time I wished I’d see you again.” Keith pressed his forehead against Lance’s, tears in his eyes. “Fuck, Lance…”

Lance bit his lip. Every one of his instincts were telling him to reply with ‘you already did’, but he just cupped Keith’s cheek. “Keith, this isn’t ideal, but at least… at least you’re not alone here anymore.”

Keith took a step back, turning away from him. “We should get you dressed, and get to bed.”

Lance watched him take a few steps before he followed. There was a strained tension in Keith’s shoulders and Lance wanted it to go away. He ran into Keith’s back when he stopped suddenly.

“And… and we can’t use those name… we have to be…” Keith’s voice cracked as he spoke.

“We have to be Spitfire and Baby Blue.”

When they walked into barracks, the room went silent and no one was looking at them, but Lance got the feeling that him and Keith had just been the topic of choice. It made his skin crawl, but he tried to ignore the feeling as he bent in front of his trunk to pull out new clothes. Keith laid back on his bed, letting out a contented groan that sent a shiver up Lance’s spine.

Lance sat on his bed once he was dressed, his eyes going to Keith. The other boy seemed to be purposefully not looking at him. Princess walked over and smiled at him awkwardly. “You feeling better?”

“I guess so, a little better at least.” He sighed, looking up at her. “I’m…”

One of the guards smacked the wall hard, making everyone in the room jump. Once he had their attentions he announced that it was lights out. The few people that weren’t in their beds already moved swiftly into their own beds.

Just before the lights turned off, Keith turned to face Lance. Once the lights were off, Lance reached his hand into the space, his eyes meeting with the other boy’s in the dark. Keith’s hand touched his very lightly, their fingers intertwining slightly before he pulled his hand back.

Lance’s throat went dry when Keith turned away from him again, but he just closed his eyes tightly. He willed himself to go to sleep, but his mind was racing with everything that could have been.


	9. Get to Know You

Lance had just fallen asleep when the light was being flicked on. He heard someone yelling. The night before he must have been so deep in his sleep that he didn’t even hear the guard giving them their wake-up call.

As he opened his eyes, he saw Keith was sitting up in his bed, his back turned towards him. Lance wondered if the other boy had gotten any sleep. He was just about to say something to him the guard kept talking.

“Baby Blue, the prince wants you in his office, now.” The guard’s words seemed urgent, like he’d be in trouble if Lance didn’t move quick enough, he’d be in trouble.

With a lump in his throat, he got out of bed, his eyes still on Keith, who had gone completely stiff. He took a deep breath when he finally tore his eyes away from him, walking towards the door.

Dread was welling up in side of him as he walked towards Lotor’s office. His ass still stung and every other inch of him was sore. Taking Lotor’s dick and whatever else the sadistic man would do to him wasn’t something that Lance could take.

What he really wanted to do was lay in bed with Keith, finding out exactly how he managed to stay so strong for four years, telling him lies about people still looking for him. It was unlikely that he’d ever get a chance to get his wish, but it was what he wanted and he didn’t think it would hurt to have the fantasy. The little fantasy might be exactly what keeps him from losing himself completely to the ‘work’.

Lotor’s door was open, but Lance couldn’t see the man sitting at the desk when he approached. It meant he was probably over by his toys. Lance shivered as he walked in, not knowing whether or not he should have announced his presence.

He could see Lotor arranging some things on a table, and Lance didn’t want to know what those things were. He had a sneaking suspicion that he was going to find out, painfully.

“Baby Blue, come over here, please.” Lotor said, not turning around to look at him. Lance swallowed hard before walking over to him, his hands fidgeting nervously.

“You… uh… wanted to see me?” Lance looked down at the ground once he was closer to Lotor, but still a good distance away.

“I said that we were going to get to know each other better, and I thought we’d start today.” Lotor finally turned to look at Lance, twirling a whip around his finger as he grinned.

Lance took an instinctive step back, his eyes going wide as he stared at the whip. “Wait… please, not…”

“Hmm, not so excited by whips? How do you feel about blades?” Lotor seemed to pout at having to change his method of torture. Lance let out a panicked whimper at the thought of blades cutting at his skin. “Though, it does seem a shame to mark up your flawless skin. Not even so much as a childhood scar, that I could see the other day.”

Biting his lip, he thought that it would be too much to hope for that he wasn’t going to be more than raped, but he also suspected that Lotor had things to hurt him without leaving marks.

“Ah, that’s for a little later, first we have to work on your routine for tonight. You’ll be rough, but most of our clients like it rough.” Lotor set the whip down and moved into Lance’s space.

Letting out a small sigh of relief, he looked away from Lotor. “What… what should I be doing exactly?”

He caught several of the other shows when he was working the bar, and they were all a little different. Some of them left almost all of their clothes on, while other stripped completely. Some simply danced, some moved off stage, some made themselves come on stage.

“This is one of the very few things that you get to choose here, so whatever feels right to you.” Lotor looked him up and down, biting his lip. “But, you gave everyone the show of their lives last night, so you’ll have to try to top that.”

Lance closed his eyes tightly. Hoping that everything would be different when he opened them. It wasn’t.

Lotor chuckled as he walked over to his desk, sinking into the chair. “Well Baby Blue, whenever you want to start. After I see what you can do, I’ll pick out music for tonight.”

He turned away from Lotor, taking a deep breath. Once at a party, he had gotten drunk enough to strip on the coffee table. He didn’t actually remember it, but his roommate made sure to take a video. Several people told him that they were turned on by it, even weeks afterwards. Lance tried to tap into whatever happened that night, especially the part where he didn’t remember.

Lance wasn’t wearing much, so it didn’t take long before he was gyrating in Lotor’s office with nothing on. He wasn’t even slightly hard, and Lotor was staring at his dick. Groaning, he reached to touch his dick trying to think of things that could get it up. It wasn’t working as well or as quickly as he was hoping. He wanted to get all of this over with.

 He tried his hardest to block out what he was doing as he reached around himself, his fingers poking at his sore hole. The touches drew out pained moans, but that only seemed to make Lotor more interested. His knees buckled and he fell forward as he came, crying out and seeing stars.

His ears were ringing, but he could faintly hear Lotor clapping. Lance was both terrified and relieved that he’d impressed the man. He yipped as rough hands pulled him up by his hair.

“It’ll do, Baby Blue.” Lotor grinned at him, one of his hands resting on his hip. “Now, what shall the two of us do? You got me all worked up.”

“You could take care of it yourself.” Lance regretted each word as it left his mouth, but once they were out he couldn’t take them back. Once he ended the sentence, he looked at Lotor with pure fear in his eyes.

A grin crept onto Lotor’s face as he moved closer to breath into Lance’s ear. “You know, those are the exact words Spitfire said to me the first time I fucked him.”

A shiver went down his spine as he felt Lotor’s teeth biting at his ear. “And what did you do to him?”

“Let’s just say, it took his almost two days before he stopped bleeding, and another two before he could walk.” Lotor chuckled, pressing even closer into Lance. “But he already ruined your hole, didn’t he?”

Lance whimpered when Lotor’s hand gripped his dick, too tightly. “Y-Yes… I-I…”

“Did it hurt, when you were fingering yourself? I couldn’t tell by your face.” Lotor’s hand reached around to cup his ass. “I think it needs more pounding, don’t you?”

“Wait, please, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to…” Lance started rambling, only stopping when Lotor threw him to the ground. He looked up at the man, who was grinning down at him.

“I like you down there. I think I’ll fuck you, then we’ll play.” Lotor moved over to his door, which had been open this entire time. He closed it and locked it.

When he moved back to where Lance had moved to a seat position on the floor, he started to unbutton his shirt. After he threw it on the ground, he got on his knees. Lance closed his eyes tightly when Lotor crawled between his legs. Lip and teeth were hot on his neck, drawing erotic noises out of him. They moved down his body, sucking and biting on his nipples hard. Lotor’s still clothed bulge was chafing his dick as the man rocked down into him. Lance clawed at the floor.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Get my dick out, so I can put it inside you.” Lotor sounded annoyed and Lance grimaced as he moved his shaking hands between them. The man above him made a disgusting sound when Lance pulled his cock out. It seemed even bigger than when Lotor fucked his face. He gulped as he started moving his hands away. “Line it up, you want it, don’t you?”

Lance was looking directly in Lotor’s eyes and he wanted to break eye contact as he moved the tip of his dick against his hole, but he couldn’t. Even when Lotor shoved it all it with one quick thrust, his eyes were locked with his. It hurt and he _screamed_ , but he couldn’t look away. Their eye contact only broke when Lotor closed his eyes and dropped his head to the crook of Lance’s neck, panting.

“You have a quality ass.” Lotor growled once he had caught his breath. Lance grimaced, the fear causing his ass to tighten around Lotor’s dick, making the man moan loudly.

As Lotor rocked into him, he begged, pleaded, and let out pained and pleasured noises. Lotor kept biting at him, panting in his ear, calling him a slut and telling Lance how much he should be thanking him for the fuck.

Lance closed his eyes tightly when he felt Lotor cum deep inside of him. It took Lotor a while for Lotor to pull out after he came and Lance just laid there, his head lolled to one side. He was still hard, painfully hard. A few slight brushes to his dick would probably have him cumming.

Hands were pulling him up by his hair again, and he barely flinched at the pain. Lotor’s now flacid dick was in his face. Lance grimaced when he saw how much of his blood was mixed with Lotor’s cum.

“Clean it off.”

Lotor came a second time, deep in Lance’s throat.

“You know, I think I know you so much better now. We’ll talk some tomorrow after your practice with Haggar, then I’ll introduce you to some of my toys.” Lotor said as he shoved himself back into his pants.

Lance got up from the floor, his legs were shaky. “That mean I can go?”

Humming, Lotor looked up and down again. “In a moment.” He walked over to his desk, turning back around with a camera. Lance didn’t move as he watch the man walking around him, pointing the camera at him, getting closer to his dick, ass, and neck. Once he shoved his phone into his pocket, he motioned towards the door. “I look forward to see your show put to music tonight, Baby Blue.”

After picking up the clothes he had discarded earilier, he left, limping slightly. He wincing with every step. His eyes fell on Keith on his hands and knees, scrubbing the floor in the hallway. Keith looked up at him, his eyes going wide when he saw Lance.

Keith started standing, looking around to see if there were any guards around. When he didn’t see any, he walked over to Lance. He wrapped an arm around his torso, under his arms. “It’s okay, I got you.”

His voice was so soft, that Lance started crying. Keith nodded slightly, helping him into the bathroom. There was someone in the shower and two people on the toilets when they walked out. Lance was looking at the floor, but Keith was staring them down. The three people vacated the bathroom as quickly as possible.

“It’s okay, you’re going to be okay.” Keith’s words were hollow as he helped Lance lean against the shower wall, but they made him feel a little better.

“Wait, what are you doing?” Lance reached for Keith’s shoulders when the other boy sunk to his knees in front of him. Keith glanced up at him with a conflicted look on his face. “Don’t… you don’t have to…”

“I want to, it’ll… but if you don’t want…” Keith swallowed hard and Lance let his head fall back against the tile.

“Okay.”

“I know it’s hard for you, but try to stay quiet, okay?” Keith’s voice sounded almost amused, and it made Lance let out a little huff of laughter. It wasn’t the first time Keith had told him that.

Lance bit his lip to hold back all the little noise’s Keith was drawing out of him. Keith’s mouth was heaven on his painfully hard dick. It didn’t take long before he was babbling in Spanish and coming down Keith’s throat.

When Keith was back at eye level, Lance groaned, not looking at him. Keith wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Better?”

“Yeah, much… uh, thank you?”

Keith rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. “Your welcome.”

“And, uh, sorry, but not giving you… uh… warning…”

“I-I’ve sucked enough dicks that I can tell… so, it’s okay.” Keith sighed, the smile falling off his face as he looked away from Lance. “I should get back to my chore, you going to be okay to clean yourself up?”

“I-I… I think so.” Lance took a few deep breaths.

“Okay, I think Princess already did your chore, so you’ll be okay to just rest until…” Keith bit his lip as he turned. Lanced watch him leave. Once he was gone, he turned the water to cold and stood under it longer than he probably should have.


	10. Secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most stories I get really excited when I can announce sex happening every so many chapters. This is a story when I get excited to tell you when there is no sex. It's weird.

 He was lounging on his bed and had been for a while. A few of the others had been glancing at him and whispering for a while, but he had been doing his best until Princess came in. She sat on his bed and smiled. “Hey, you…”

“It honestly wasn’t as bad as I expected.” Lance closed his eyes and grimaced. “But he wants me to himself again tomorrow.”

“Blue…” She sounded a little uncomfortable with how casually he said it, but he just opened his eyes and shrugged. There was nothing he could do to change his situation.

“Spitfire told me you took care of my chore. Thank you.” Lance smiled at her and she looked away.

“It was to thank you, for doing mine yesterday. And I knew you wouldn’t be up for it after…” She sighed and glanced at him again. “Have you and he gotten much of a chance to talk yet?”

“No, not really, not as much as I’d like to.” Lance glanced over at the group sitting on one of the beds near the door. “But other people have been talking about us, haven’t they?”

“Everyone’s just a little… surprised about how much he’s been… he’s been different since you got here. I think they’re jealous about how much attention he’s been showing you.”

“I’m sure they’re not the only people that have noticed.” Lance glanced at the guard was entering the room, looking at every single one of them a little longer than was necessary to get a body count. Princess’s eyes followed his and she grimaced.

“You’re probably right, but…” She looked back at Lance and shook her head. “I don’t know what they’d do because of it though.”

Lance huffed, bringing his legs up to his chest. “Nothing good probably. Not that these people can do anything good.”

Princess let out a little bark of laughter. It was good to hear her laugh. When they could laugh, it meant they still had hope, they were still people and not just toys to be used. “That’s true.”

They sat in silence for a while before the others by the door let out a collective gasp. Lance and Princess both turned to look at the door, where Keith was limping into the room. He was wearing clothes, shockingly, but he was covered in blood. Some of it was obviously his, but some of it had to have been someone else’s. Lance got up from his bed and started moving towards him, but Keith put out a hand to stop him.

“I’m fine L- Blue…” He didn’t look up at Lance as he brought his other hand to wipe at the blood on his chin.

“Fine? Are you fucking kidding me? You’re covered in blood, you can barely walk. There’s no way this was a sex thing.” Lance took a step towards him anyway, frantically motioned up and down him.

“ _I’m fine_.” Keith’s voice was more of a growl as he pushed Lance to the side. Lance let out a shocked squeak as he was moved. He watched Keith limp to the bathroom, taking off his shirt on the way.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen him like _that_.” One of the other whores, one that Princess had told him had been there the longest besides Keith, said.

Lance turned to the woman and stared at her. “What do you mean? What did they do to him?”

“Don’t know. Every few months though they do it.” She just shrugged looking down. “I’ve never seen him look so… angry afterwards though. But every time it happens… it’s not good for the rest of us.”

Swallowing hard, Lance glanced back towards the opening to the bathroom. Keith was in there alone. He walked into the bathroom, his eyes on Keith sitting on the floor of the shower.

“Hey, talk to me.” Lance leaned against the wall that separated the showers from the toilets.

“Go away.” Keith pulled one of his legs up to his chest. Lance glanced down at him, his gaze caught the tattoo on Keith’s hip. It was different than his, than everyone else’s. The symbol of the gang was the same, but Lance and Princess both had a rose under theirs. Keith’s had a strange symbol underneath it. Just enough of a difference that it probably meant something.

“Not going to happen.” Lance crossed his arms. “If you don’t want to tell me anything, whatever, but I’m not going anywhere.”

“I don’t need… I can take care of myself.” Keith’s voice was biting and that made Lance throw his hands up in frustrating and start yelling.

“You’re such an idiot! I know that you’ve been here for four years, dealing with this shit by yourself, but you don’t have to anymore! You’re so… you’re the same hard headed moron, but this isn’t something you should do yourself!”

Keith stood up, pushing on Lance’s shoulders and glaring up at him. “You don’t understand anything! What I do has consequences for everyone else here and I have to live with that!”

“ _Why?_ ” Lance moved into Keith’s space more. It felt so… normal to be fighting with him. Even when they became friends, fighting was just their thing.

“I… I _can’t_ … I _can’t_. You… You’re…” Keith grunted and turned away from him. “If they figure out how much you mean to me…”

“Don’t you dare tell me that we can’t… whatever, okay? I’m not going to let you deal with whatever special hell they put you through alone!” Lance grabbed his shoulder, roughly turning him around. “Okay?”

Keith smacked his hand away, glaring at him again. “I won’t watch you get hurt because of me.”

“Idiot. I don’t care, I’ll deal with it if it means that you have someone you can lean on.” Lance’s voice was soft as he brought his hand up to Keith’s cheek. Keith looked like he was going to cry as he took a step towards Lance. He wrapped his arms around Lance, burying his face in the crook of his neck.

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…” Keith kept repeating it as he sobbed. Lance wrapped his arms around Keith’s back. The feeling of scars under his fingers made him want to cry too.

“Hey, we’re going to be okay.” Lance kissed the top of his head. “We’ll be okay.”

They stayed like that until someone was saying their names urgently. Both boys jumped away from each other, looking up to see Princess looking panicked. “Haggar is calling us into the dressing room early.”

Lance nodded and glanced at Keith, who looked nauseatingly guilty. He wondered if there was a different special punishment for the brothel every time this happened to Keith, or if Keith knew what kind of fresh hell Lance was going to be experiencing.


	11. No Rest

There was quiet murmuring coming from the dressing room. It wasn’t hard for Lance to guess what everyone was talking about. Keith hadn’t looked up at him or said anything since he got dressed, it was only adding to Lance’s anxiety. Everyone going silent when they walked in added to it too. Lance grabbed Keith’s arm when the other boy started to walk away. Keith started to turn to look at him but stopped when Haggar cleared her throat as she walked into the room.

Everyone’s eyes went to Haggar as she moved to the front of the room. There was so much tension in the room and Lance moved his hand down Keith’s arm to intertwine their fingers together. Keith squeezed his hand and that made Lance feel a little better.

“Hello everyone.” The grin on Haggar’s face made Lance’s small comfort from Keith’s hand in his dissipate. “So, there are a few changes that we thought that you should know about.”

There was silence while she paused, and the sickening grin only grew. “We’ll be skipping rest days this cycle, so everyone scheduled to longue around today, you’ll be working tonight. Also, tomorrow, we will be opening early, at approximately noon. There will be just enough time between close tonight and open tomorrow to do your chore, clean up, and have a meal.”

Lance could feel the tension growing in the room as the grip on his hand grew tighter. Princess’s rest day was supposed to be in two days. Going on like they did with at least one day every once in a while, seemed impossible. Then to top it off, not getting any sleep and having to ‘work’ longer just seemed unnecessarily cruel. He could tell everyone’s eyes were on Keith again and it made him want to speak up to defend the other boy, but he didn’t know what to say.

“Though, two of you will not be working here tomorrow.” Haggar’s eyes moved to Lance and Keith. Lance could barely feel his hand by how tightly Keith was squeezing it. “Spitfire, you’ll be going to entertain the gladiators. They’ve been fighting so hard, Zarkon wants to make sure you give them the full package. You’ve had a few of them here before, so you should know how they like it.”

Lance squeezed Keith’s hand back. He didn’t like the sound of ‘gladiators’ and could only imagine how brutal they were.

“Baby Blue.” His eyes snapped to Haggar, who was moving closer to him. “You’ll be going home with the Prince after you get washed up from tonight. He told me that he has a special _treat_ for you.”

Haggar started moving towards the door, laughing. “Make sure you’re already for tonight before curtain call.”

Once she was gone, a few people started grumbling loudly as they moved to get things off the racks. A few just sat on the floor, looking completely broken. Two of them walked toward Lance and Keith, both looked pissed. One grabbed the collar of Keith’s shirt, pulling him closer.

“What the fuck did you do this time, _Spitfire_?” He growled it in Keith’s face.

Keith grimaced as he looked away, his hand leaving Lance’s. Lance grabbed the hand holding Keith’s collar, glaring at the larger man. “Get off of him.”

“You really going to defend him? After what he _did_ to you?” The other one scoffed, crossing her arms. “This is the worst punishment he’s gotten us since I’ve been here.”

“It’s not like he’s getting out of the punishment! He’s suffering just as much as the rest of us, so why don’t you just back off.” Lance moved closer to the man.

“You’re not doing yourself any favors, Baby Blue. He’s not the kind of person you should be defending.” The man released Keith, pushing him back a little before taking the woman and walking away.

Lance turned to Keith, who was glaring at him now. “He’s right. You’re just going to make them hate you too if you stick with me.”

Groaning, Lance put his hands on the smaller boy’s shoulders. “I. Do. Not. Care. I’m not letting keep going through this alone.”

With a sigh, Keith looked utterly defeated. “I hope you won’t end up regretting it.”

“I won’t.” Lance smiled at him, hoping that it would help. “We’ll both okay, okay?”

Keith didn’t say anything as he moved away from Lance. Lance shook his head as he watched the other boy walk to his dressing table. People were still glaring at him, and a few people pushed him as he walked past them.

Lance took a deep breath before walking over to his own table. The blue shorts were on the table. Princess was sitting at hers with her head on his hands, visibly shaking. He leaned down next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. She was crying.

“Hey.” He said it softly and she just sobbed as he turned towards him, burying her face in his chest. Slowly, he wrapped her arms around her. “You’re strong, you’re going to be alright.”

“I’m _not_ … I _can’t_ … not without that day… I can’t…” She sobbed into his chest and he just rubbed her back. He was shushing her and rambling something comforting in Spanish.

Once he had her calmed down, he pulled away so he could change. Her face and eyes were still red from crying as she caked on her make up. Lance looked over at the door when some announced that Spitfire was up first and they were ready for him. He didn’t look at Keith as the other boy left, instead looked back at himself in the mirror.

“Baby Blue, you’re up next, so make sure you’re ready.”  The same guard said and Lance just grimaced at himself. Princess’s hand fell on his shoulder and he nodded, thanking her for the small comfort.

He took her hand, squeezing it gently before he moved to stand out in the theater. Staying in the back by the doors to their quarters, he watched Keith move on the stage. The way the other boy was moving was making him painfully hard, and he hated that it was, but also glad that he wouldn’t have to try to imagine something to get his dick up while on the stage.

The music ended and Keith was moving off the stage while one of the gang members was announcing Lance. There was a murmur through the crowd and then a few shouts. The people wanted an encore of Baby Blue and Spitfire’s performance from the night before. Keith froze, half on the stage and half off. A lump formed in Lance’s throat as he moved, very slowly, towards the stage.

A chant started and the announcer near the stage was talking into a walkie-talkie.

“Sorry folks, not today. The Prince’ll make a special some time soon, a two-for-one to play with them.”

Keith deflated as he finished getting off the stage. Lance brushed his hand against Keith’s ever so slightly as they passed each other. The touch was lingering, despite that they didn’t look at each other.

Once Lance was on the stage, he watched Keith get stopped by what was probably his next client. The man pulled Keith onto his lap and had his attention trained on the stage, on Lance. Lance locked eyes with Keith, who was looking just as intently.

The music started, and Lance closed his eyes. His performance was different than Spitfire’s, who moved with authority on the stage. He whimpered as he touched himself, trying to focus on the music and the noises of the crowd. It was hard, but he opened his eyes again. Keith was still staring at him. Baby Blue tried to pretend it was a private show, just for him.

Lance collapsed on the stage as he came. The music trailed off and there was another announcement. Keith and his client were gone when Lance got off the stage. One of the guards told him to report to the ‘playroom’. He hadn’t been in that room yet, and he didn’t like that sound of its name.

The door shut behind Lance, and he could hear several voices in the room with him. It was darker than some of the other rooms he was in the night before, but Lance could see five figures standing around when he turned to the sound of the noises. They all laughed when one started walking towards him.


	12. By Any Other Name

Lance opened the door after catching his breath from his last client for the night. A young woman who wanted desperately to lose her virginity before college. Most his clients hadn’t been too rough. The group he started his night with slapped him around when he wouldn’t shut up, and filled him two dicks at a time, but they used lube so it wasn’t too bad. The taste of cum and blood in his mouth made him feel sick, but he was managing to keep whatever he had been served for dinner down.

 “Go get cleaned up and clothed so the prince can take you home.” The guard said once he got out of the room. Lance glanced at him, but quickly looked down at the floor. The night was already over, but the pain wasn’t over for him.

Keith was already dressed and leaving with a guard when Lance got to the barracks. The boy paused to look at him, but was pushed forward by the guard.

“Come on, you’ll have time to kiss your boyfriend when you get back.” The guard chuckled and Keith’s eyes went wide with panic. Lance swallowed hard as he looked at the guard. “But, the two off you probably won’t be able to get out of your beds after what you’re looking forward to.”

Keith only started moving when the guard pushed him again. Lance kept his eyes straight ahead as he listened to the footsteps getting farther and farther. Once they were too far to hear, Lance went into the bathroom. All the showers were taken, so he leaned next to the sinks, looking down at the floor. Keith’s hair was dry. The other boy didn’t even clean up.

Princess was the first person to free up a shower for him. She didn’t even look at him as she passed him. Lance sucked in a breath before getting in the shower, taking a quick shower. He didn’t think keeping Lotor waiting would only make things so much worse for him.

Once he was finished, he quickly got dressed and saw a guard standing by the door with a blind fold and hand cuffs. Keith got to walk out without any of those things. He glanced at Princess, who was sitting on her bed with tears in her eyes. Lance wanted to say something to her but the guard called for him.

Once he couldn’t see and his hands were bound, he was being pulled forward. He knew he was outside when the scent changed. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes tightly behind the blindfold. Before he could even take any sort of pleasure in being outside again, he was being shoved into an idling car.

“I heard that some of your clients today weren’t impressed by you running your mouth.” Lotor’s voice filled the car once it started moving. “Keep it up, Baby Blue, and we’ll have to take care of it.”

“Take care of it how?” Lance was proud at how even his voice sounded when he spoke. He grunted when Lotor slapped him, reopening his split lip from earlier.

“And there it is again, you not knowing when to hold your tongue. It’d be a shame too. I quite like your voice.”

Literally biting his tongue, Lance balled his hands into fists behind his back. His time with Lotor was off to a great start.

“Very good. Now, you _should_ be excited. I’ve never brought anyone home before, not even Spitfire.” Lotor’s hand was running up his leg and Lance wished he could slap it away. “I’ll treat you _special_.”

Letting out a whimper, he curled forward slightly. Lance had experienced normal with Lotor, he didn’t want special.

“But, we’ll wait until we’re cozy in my room before really start. I don’t want to ruin my leather.” The hand on Lance’s thigh squeezed and second hand was holding Lance’s chin. “But, seeing you like this makes me so weak.”

When Lance didn’t move, or say anything, Lotor moved closer. “It reminds me of you one stage. No way of knowing who was fucking you, what they were going to next. You wouldn’t stop writhing underneath him.”

“Stop! Don’t… don’t talk about it like…” Lance twisted out of the grip on his chin as he grimaced.

“Oh? Does thinking about it turn you on?” Lotor’s breath was on his ear. “His gentle hands? His needy kiss? His dick pounding into your ass mercilessly? Keith must’ve been thirsting for you so hard to be that brutal.”

Breathing hitching, Lance’s eyes went wide under his blindfold. “No… no way…”

“I’ve had him under my care for four years, you don’t think I’d know his name, Lance?” Lotor sucked his earlobe into his mouth and Lance’s breathing started to go erratic.

“How? How do you know…” Lance was frozen with panic.

“My father made sure to fill me in, but how he knows… you’d have to ask Keith.”

“Don’t…” Lance hated how Keith’s name sounded out of Lotor’s mouth. “Don’t call him that.”

“You really need to learn when to shut up.” Lotor’s hand was gripping his jaw tightly. “But it’s alright. I’ll teach you.”

Lance let out a shaky breath when Lotor released him and moved away from him. The man didn’t say anything else to him during the ride. Hands, not Lotor’s, pulled him out of the car roughly once it stopped.

 He didn’t say anything as he was lead along. His bound hands were pulled above his head once the person guiding him stopped. Panic was bubbling through him again as he realized that the chain of the handcuffs was being looped over a hook. The blindfold was taken off, and Lance blinked at the bright light that was focused on him. Kicking his feet that were just barely touching the ground, he took a few deep breaths. He had to stay calm, or else breathing would be so much harder.

Once he adjusted to the light, he focused just next to the light. There was a video camera on a tripod, pointed straight at him.

A door opened and Lance flinched when it slammed shut and a few locks clicked. Lotor came into his view, and was completely naked. His dick was rock hard. But Lance focused on the black case the man had in his one hand.

“I’ll turn on the camera, then we’ll get started.” Lotor moved over to the camera, staring at it for a while before pressing a button.

“Why? Why are you filming this?” Lance imagined the man just like to get off watching himself torture people.

“Spitfire couldn’t join us today, but I want to make sure that he gets to watch me break you.” Lotor set the case on a table just out of Lance’s view. The clicking of it opening made Lance wince with anticipated pain. “It’s only fair, after you got to watch him get fucked.”

Lanced closed his eyes tightly, tears threatening to over flow. Keith was already so worried about being the cause of his pain, watching this was only going to make it so much worse.


	13. Electric

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone is curious, I have started on the other three stories that are happening parallel to this one (that's a lie, I've only started Keith's, but I digress). I'm not sure when I'll put them up in relation to this one, but probably before this one is completely finished, but not for a while.
> 
> Why does writing take so much time? T^T

Lance was in and out. It had been hours since Lotor had started. When Lotor wasn’t filling his ass with his disgusting dick, there was a plug shoved him in, vibrating constantly and uncomfortably textured. The pressure of the ring around his cock had become painful, holding him back from letting until it made him dizzy to cum. His back stung from the strikes of the crop whip, which weren’t enough to leave any permanent marks, still enough to make him cry. The worst were the shocks. Electrodes were hooked up to the clamps around his nipples and every time he said something that wasn’t an answer to a direct question, Lotor pressed the button. Each time it got worse and worse. Hanging from his wrists, it was getting hard to breath. Lance was going to die if it went on much longer.

“Do you like it?” Lotor asked, his grip on Lance’s jaw was bruising. Lance’s eyes weren’t focusing but he tried to glare at the man.

“What do you think?”

“Tell me you want me.” Lotor grinned, his other hand reaching around to tug at the plug in Lance’s ass. Lance let out a pained groan. At that point, the pain had ebbed away from how stretched he was, but he was so oversensitive that even the lightest tough would have him orgasming again despite not having much else to actually cum.

Lance panted for breath before looking back at Lotor. “I-I… I want it…”

“No, you want _me_.” Lotor’s hand moved to his throat and Lance gasped, despite not being able to pull any air in.

“I want you.” His words even in the least bit convincing, but Lance could see that his willingness to say them was good enough for Lotor, for the moment.

Lotor pulled the plug out drawing a whimper from Lance. It took some time, but he was manhandled so his legs were wrapped around Lotor’s waist as the man’s cock pushed into him. Lance’s head rolled back at the now familiar sensation. The feeling of coming racked his body, but nothing came out of his dick.

He was almost completely out of it while Lotor slammed into him. Only coming back to reality when he felt Lotor empty into him again. The sensation had him orgasming again. Lance wished his tears hadn’t run dry so he could cry again.

“Why don’t we take a break? I’m exhausted.” Lotor smiled at him, and it was almost a sweet smile. Lance just heaved for breath, his ass muscles twitching around the flaccid dick still in him. “I want your answer.”

“Please… please…” Lance huffed out, his gaze dropping from Lotor’s, who hummed as he pulled out. Lotor walked towards the camera, changing the SD card. It was the third time he had. He then moved to the controls for the shocks and Lance bit his lip in anticipation.

“Just one more of your wonderful screams, and then we’ll take a break and move somewhere a little more comfortable.” Lotor grinned at him as he pressed a button. Lance screamed at the electricity flowing through him. He completely blacked out before Lotor’s finger left the button.

When Lance woke up, he was lying face down in a bed. It so comfortable, with silk sheets. His hands were still handcuffed, attached to the headboard. There was a weight on top of him and he felt sick when he realized that Lotor’s dick was inside of him again. The bastard didn’t even wait for him to regain consciousness.

“Good morning Baby Blue.” Lotor whispered in his ear. “You were out for so long, that I had to start without you.”

Lance let out a moan when Lotor slammed down into him. He couldn’t help but wonder how long Lotor waited and how long he had been raping him while he was out.

He lost count of how many times him and Lotor both came when the man got off the bed and walked over the camera. Lance had his eyes closed tightly, refusing to look at anything.

“Hmm, Spitfire should enjoy watching this with me. There’s so much here that we could watch for days.” Lotor cooed as Lance heard clicks of the camera being messed with. “Would you like to join our little viewing party?”

Lance just closed his eyes tighter and gritted his teeth.

“Modest? He’ll just have to tell you how much he liked them afterwards.” Lotor walked back over, running his hand up Lance’s leg. “But, we’re done for today. I don’t think I could know you any better if I tried.”

“You don’t know anything about me.” Lance said through his teeth.

“Tell yourself what you like.” Then a door slammed shut.

Lance finally looked around the room, craning his neck to do so, and let out a few sobs. Maybe he’d get some free time to just lie with Keith and just hold each other. Lance would kill to be held gently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short and painful. The next two will be fluffy-ish. Even some flashbacks!


	14. Shut Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please go read the newly added end note of Chapter 6 on details of how I somehow made that whole thing worse. Hint - Lance was on winter break from college which means certain winter Christian holidays may have happened during the course of this fic.
> 
> Fuck, I made myself cry when I realized the thing.

Keith was already laying in his bed when Lance walked into the barracks. He wasn’t even limping; his ass was more numb than painful after the constant stimulation from Lotor and the vibrator. Lance knelt down next to Keith’s bed and his heart sunk when he saw the other boy’s black eye and split lip. There were cuts covering his arms and his hands were bruised. Injuries from fighting, not from even the roughest sex. “Scoot over.”

The other boy’s eyes shot open when Lance spoke. He looked away the second he made eye contact with Lance. “What did he…”

Grimacing, Lance fidgeted with his hands. “Doesn’t matter. I’ll be okay.”

“I’m sorry.” Keith’s voice broke when he said it. He knew Lance wasn’t okay, and that it did matter.

Lance rolled his eyes, pushing on Keith’s shoulder lightly. “Scoot over.”

Finally, Keith did as Lance asked, grunting with the movements. Lance lowered himself onto the small space Keith had made on the bed. His hand gently caressed Keith’s cheek, being very mindful of his bruises. “This isn’t a good idea.”

“Screw them, I want to be close to you right now. Can you honestly say you don’t want this?” Lance huffed, his eyes narrowing slightly.

“Not here, not knowing what they could do to you.” Keith brought his hand up and covered Lance’s, closing his eyes again.

“They hurt you too, they’ll hurt you too.” Lance felt pained at the way Keith seemed to forget how much he went through with everyone else.

“Nothing they do to me hurts anymore. There’s nothing new they can do to break me.”

“Why are they so obsessed with breaking you?” Lance brought his face close to Keith’s, their breath mingling in the small space. Keith just shook his head, tears coming to his eyes. “Talk to me. You look like you took one hell of a beating, this couldn’t have been sex either.”

“I can’t tell you.” Keith opened his eyes, blinking away the tears. “If you knew…”

“What are you so afraid of? I’m not going to judge you, or whatever you’re afraid of. You’re in the same boat as the rest of us, forced to do all this shit just for their amusement.”

“No… I’m afraid you’ll hate me.”

“For what? How could I hate you?” Lance had Keith’s face in both of his hands now. Keith had his eyes closed tightly again, shaking his head furiously. With a sigh, Lance moved his hands so he was pulling Keith closer to him. “I could never hate you, and I mean that.”

Keith gripped the front of his shirt and rested their foreheads together. Lance whimpered slightly when Keith nudged at his singed nipples. The tension in Keith’s body at the sound, Lance pressed a little closer, his voice firm as he spoke. “Don’t apologize and don’t move.”

“Are you okay?” Keith opened one of his eyes to look at Lance.

“As long as we keep holding each other, I’m on top of the world.” Lance smiled at him and it was infectious as Keith smiled back at him. Their lips met quickly in what was barely even a kiss, but it meant everything to Lance. He hoped it meant as much to Keith.

 “You should go to your own bed before we fall asleep like this.” Keith huffed after they had been staring into each other’s eyes for a while.

Lance rolled his eyes. “Okay. But give me a few more minutes, okay?”

“Okay.”

Keith fell asleep during those few minutes, but Lance managed to stay awake. He didn’t want to move, but he forced himself to untangle himself from Keith and go to his own bed. Once he laid down, he looked over and saw Keith blinking at him sleepily.

“Thank you.”

Lance’s heart swelled as he reached out for Keith like he had the other night. “Anytime.”

Keith’s fingers lingered longer than the first time they had done this, but they dropped eventually and Keith turned so he was looking away from Lance. With a centering breath, Lance closed his eyes and willed himself to sleep.

Lance woke up to the sound of people yelling and the sound of pained grunts. His eyes sprung open when he realized what was happening. Most of the others were in a group near the wall. He got out of bed quickly, his eyes gazing towards the small group that was standing near the door.

Rage was flooding through him as he realized what was happening. He pulled on the shoulder of one of the people, who was pulling her leg back in preparation to kick out. She lost her balance and fell into one of the other. Keith was curled up in a ball against the wall. Lance glared around the circle. “Back off. Now.”

He was surprised how angry he sounded, and he was even more surprised when the group around them dissipated. After the group had left the room, Lance leaned down. Keith flinched away from his touch.

“Don’t touch me.” Keith’s voice was shaking, not looking up at Lance. “Stop protecting me!”

“We’ve talked about this, you broody moron.” Lance sighed as sat down on the ground in front of Lance. “They didn’t hurt you, much, right?”

Keith looked up. His split lip was bleeding again, but he didn’t look much different than earlier. Lance grabbed his face gently, turning it just to make sure. The other boy didn’t fight against the grip, just sighed.

“Come on, we need to grab food and do our chores. I’m starving.”

“I’m not hungry.” He grumbled, putting his face back to his knees as Lance stood up.

“And I’m going to make you eat anyway. You’re not going to argue, because you know that I have ways to force you to eat.” Lance grinned up at him.

With a huff, Keith grabbed Lance’s hand and used him as leverage to pull himself off the ground. “This is nothing like when I forgot to eat in high school Lance.”

“You’re right. It’s even more important now.” Lance moved some of Keith’s hair out of his face. “After everything that you’ve gone through here, I’m not going to let you give up by not eating.”

“You’re ridiculous.” Keith was smiling though, his hand still holding the other boy’s.

“I’ve been lead to believe that you like that about me.”

“Whoever made you think that was obviously lying to you.”

“Excuse me? Pidge and Hunk would never lie to me like that.” Lance sounded scorned as he brought his free hand up to his chest, to mock hurt.

Keith’s smile fell and Lance caught his cheek gently. “How are they? Pidge and Hunk and… and Shiro?”

Swallowing hard, Lance closed his eyes. “About a year after you went missing, Shiro and Matt both disappeared. Shiro was so torn up by it and I don’t know what happened to him, but he spent ever second looking for you.”

“No… no, no…” Keith back away from Lance, resting back against the wall. Tears started trailing down his cheeks and Lance just watched helplessly as he kept repeating the word.

“I’m sorry, I wish… I just didn’t think lying to you would be…” Lance’s hands were shaking when he reached towards Keith.

Looking back up at Lance, Keith took a few deep breaths. “No, thank you. Thank you for telling me.”

“When we get out of here, we’ll find Shiro.” Lance smiled at him, his face falling the moment Keith flinched. He tried not to read into it. “But that’s for another time. Now we need to eat and get our chores done.”

Their lips touched again and Lance hated how quickly it was over.


	15. Flashback

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Five little things about Keith and Lance from before terrible awful things happen. Some are a little angsty, but significantly better than, well, you know.
> 
> Lance and Keith (and Hunk) are 12 in the first. (Pidge is 9 but they're in the same grade because she's an effin genius kid).
> 
> They're 14 in the second and third.
> 
> They're 15 in the last two.

Lance grumbled, holding his lunch tray listening to Hunk and Pidge talk about an assignment he had half-assed. He was going towards their usual table, but Pidge stopped and he followed her gaze. The new kid was sitting at a table by himself. It had been a week and he’d barely said a word to anyone, including teachers. His name was Keith, and Lance only knew that because they had every class together.

“Let’s go sit with him.” Pidge suggested and Lance just groaned. “He’s Shiro’s little brother.”

Hunk smiled. “I think we should Lance. Don’t you have a huge crush on Shiro? Maybe this is your chance.”

“I don’t have a crush on Shiro! He’s just beautiful, and strong, and smart, and good at…” Lance blinked a few times, realizing how much like a crush it sounded like. “I know I don’t stand a chance, he’s like four years older than me.”

“Five years actually, he’s a year older than Matt.” Pidge scoffed but started walking towards the table in the corner than Keith was sitting at. “Shiro said that Keith’s always had a hard time making friends, so we should give him a head start.”

Lance looked at Keith again and sighed. The kid was cute, almost as attractive as his older brother. He was too emo looking for Lance’s usual tastes, but he also liked a good mystery. Keith did intrigue him. “Fine we can sit with the broody new kid, but he’s not going to talk to us.”

“Hi, can we sit with you?” Hunk said when they finally got to the table. Keith didn’t even look at them as he motioned to the empty seats. Lance glanced at the tray and noticed that nothing had been touched, not that he blamed the guy for not eating cafeteria food.

Hunk glanced at Pidge and Lance with a confused expression before Pidge sat down. Hunk and Lance sat on either side of her.

“I’m Katie, but my friends call me Pidge.” Pidge looked at him with a smile. “Our older brothers are friends, so…”

Keith didn’t even look up at her.

“I’m Hunk. It’s nice to meet you, Keith.” Hunk was trying to smile and sound like his usual friendly self, but Keith was making it difficult.

“Name’s Lance. We’re in the same class, even sit next to each other in math.” Lance stabbed at his mystery meat.

Keith finally looked up at Lance, his eyebrows scrunched together. “Oh, yeah. You said that ten thousand was like a thousand plus ten yesterday.”

Lance's face went bright red, wishing that Keith remembered him for literally anything else. He knew what he meant, it just came out wrong.

“So, Keith, how do you like it here so far?” Hunk asked as he opened his carton of milk, groaning when it looked in it. He was apparently content to ignore his best friend's mortification next to him.

“It’s better than a lot of places I’ve been.” Keith’s expression was guarded when he spoke.

“I know Shiro really likes the Smiths, so hopefully you’ll like living with them too.” Pidge was giving him a concerned expression and Lance just raised his eyebrows. Pidge seemed like she knew a lot about Shiro and Keith's past experiences, and that they weren't as good as the Smiths, who were basically perfect according to some of Shiro and their other four foster kids.

“They’ve been really nice so far, I can see why he likes them so much.” Keith looked down at his tray. Lance was willing to ignore what ever strange look on the other boy's face because it was more words than he had heard Keith say since he started school.

The four sat in silence for a while before Lance pointed his fork at Keith. “You’re going to join us after school tomorrow.”

Keith looked shocked and little terrified. It was a adorable, actually.

“There’s a youth center that we hang out at on Tuesday, we do stupid stuff like play ping pong off the walls, play video games.” Hunk smiled at him, trying to reassure him.

“It’s super fun. Shiro and Matt usually volunteer there to help us younger kids.” Pidge smiled at him. “I’m surprised Shiro didn’t mention it to you.”

“He’s been trying to let me settle in before he forces me to do things. Though he wants me to join some kind of sport or club or something.” Keith sighed and it was the most relaxed Lance had seen Keith since he walked in on his first day. 

“Well, you could join the soccer team! I’m co-captain, so I can talk to the coach about letting you on the team late in the season. We could actually use a new winger.” Lance grinned at him. The other boy looked relatively athletic, and Shiro was the captain of the football team so being good at sports might have been something they had in common.

“Pidge and I are in the anime club, it usually meets Fridays.”

“Nerds!” Lance rolled his eyes. He went too to hang out with them when it didn't interfere with practice. Unfortunately, he started liking some of the anime.

Something close to a smile spread across Keith’s face as he nodded. “I’ll think about both, thanks. I-I think I’ll skip tomorrow though.”

“Next week?” Lance leaned across the table, smiling at him softly.

“S-Sure…” A small blush spread across Keith’s face as the bell rang. The other three all just groaned as they rearranged all the trash onto Hunk’s tray, stacking the other three under his. Hunk groaned again as he picked up the pile of trash and walked towards the dishroom. Lance and Pidge both chuckled as they waited for Keith to move, leaving Hunk to deal with the long line of other middle schoolers wanting to get to class.

*-*-*-*-*-*

Lance groaned as he walked out of the school building, after another turn down. She laughed in his face when he gave her the finger guns. Hunk was patting his back, trying to comfort him. Pidge had her nose in a book.

They all stopped when Keith ran passed them, his skateboard at his side. “Hey Keith! What’s the hurry bud?” Lance called after him.

“I have a meeting with my caseworker! It’s the last one before the judge will sign the papers so I can live with Shiro!” Keith turned to grin at him, but didn’t stop running. “I can’t be late!”

“Good luck!” The three said in unison.

“Call me later to tell me how it goes!” Lance cupped his hands so Keith could hear him over the group of girls that were swearing at him for running into them.

Keith nodded and turned around, throwing his skateboard onto the pavement and pushing off quickly. Several people jumped out of the way, yelling at him.

Pidge elbowed Lance in the stomach and he realized that he had been staring after the other boy with a dumb expression on his face. He looked down at her. “What?”

“Nothing Lance.” She just shook her head and went back to her book.

Looking away from her, he hummed. “So, when he moves in with Shiro, we’ll finally be able to hang out at his place. It’s going to be so weird, but awesome.”

“Uh-huh. Whatever you say Lance.” Pidge mumbled as Hunk steered her out of the way of the flag pole.

Later that night, Lance heard his mother calling that there was someone on the phone with him. He practically ran downstairs to take the phone from her, getting confirmation that it was short, pale and broody on the phone.

“Hey Keith! How’d it go?” Lance leaned against the table that the phone lived on. He twirled the cord around his finger.

There was a groan on the other side of the line. “I think I blew it. Why am I like this? She barely said anything, just kept humming and jotting down notes.”

“Dude, I’m sure it’s fine! The system likes putting kids with family right? I mean…”

“You watch way too much _Law and Order_.” Keith huffed. “This is different, Shiro’s barely an adult. He just got this apartment and he currently makes barely minimum wage. I know he’s in the police academy, but he’s not a cop yet.”

“Yeah, but he’s an adult and he’s your blood. He waited a year for himself to get settled before he filed to be your guardian, so I mean that looks pretty responsible.”

“But what if they don’t think he can handle me? I’m a text book problem child! And-…”

“And he’s a saint! Keith, whatever you think you did to mess this up, I’m sure it’s nothing. You’re worrying too much.”

“I just... I just don’t wa-… I _can’t_ move again. Things have been so good for me here, and…”

Lance frowned when the words trailed off then he took a deep breath when he heard nothing but silence on the other side of the line. “When do you find out for sure? When’s the court date?”

“Saturday morning.”

“And how soon will you be able to move in with Shiro when the judge signs the papers?”

“It’ll take time to process, so probably not until next Saturday.” Keith took a few deep breaths.

“Then next Sunday, Pidge, Hunk, and I will come over with movies and we’ll order pizza. We’ll break in your new room.”

There was a nervous laugh from Keith’s side of the line, and then some yelling. Keith sighed. “I have to go Lance. Thank you.”

“No problem… could I come, to court on Saturday? I don’t want to have to wait to find out.”

“I’d like that. I’ll see you at school.”

Lance smiled down at the phone after the line went dead. He hoped he was right.

That Saturday, Lance sat next to the entire Holt family. Keith’s foster parents were sitting in the back of the courtroom. But Lance was focused on Keith, who was sitting with his head ducked next to his caseworker at one of the desks in the front. Shiro’s leg was tapping under the other desk next to his pro-bono lawyer.

Lance stood when the court cop yelled that the judge was coming in. He didn’t listen to most of the things that were said. The caseworker didn’t say much. A few of the high school teachers and some of the instructors at the police academy spoke on Shiro’s behalf. Shiro spoke with authority, maintaining eye contact with the judge the entire time.

He refocused when Keith stood up and started speaking.

“I want to live with my brother… I-I…” Keith looked down at the desk, his shoulders visibly shaking.

“Will you listen to him? Your file had quite a number of behavioral problems that I don’t think will just go away because of moving in with your brother.” The judge looked at him seriously.

“Y-Yes… I respect Shiro enough to listen to him… and I know how much getting custody would mean for him… I don’t want to mess this up for him, for us.” Keith took a few deep breaths before continuing. “Please, sir. I can’t move again. I like it here and I want to live with my brother.”

The judge hummed, looking between Keith and Shiro for a while before telling Keith to sit down. There were a few moments of silence and they were longest few minutes of Lance’s life as he watched Shiro and Keith glance at each other, both looking nervous as a human being could be.

“I’ve made my decision. Mr. Shirogane, please stand.” The judge peered down at Shiro, who nodded and stood tall. Lance swallowed hard while he waited for the judge to say something. He could only imagine how Keith and Shiro felt. “I grant custody of Keith Kogane to his older brother, Takashi Shirogane! I’ll put a rush on the paperwork with social services.”

Keith jumped up and wrapped his arms around his brother as the judge slammed down the gavel. Shiro pulled him in tight, a smile spreading across his face and tears starting to stream down his eyes.

“Hopefully, young man, you’ll be able to move in with your brother by the end of this week.” The judge smiled down at them before yelling for everyone to get out of his courtroom.

Keith pulled away from Shiro with a huge smile on his face, looking back to where Lance was sitting with a just as huge grin on his face. Shiro was walking over to Keith’s caseworker, shaking her hand, but Keith walked back to where Lance was sitting with the Holts.

“Congratulations dear.” Mrs. Holt smiled at him and squeezed his arm. He nodded at her before looking at Lance and Pidge.

“Looks like we’re on for this Sunday.” Lance punched his shoulder lightly. Keith smiled at him, hugging him around the shoulders tightly.

“Thank you.”

“For what? I just sat back here, dying of nerves.” Lance pushed his eyebrows together when Keith pulled back.

“Not letting me give up.”

“You realize this means that you’re going to have to deal with Shiro and Matt being all gross now, right?” Pidge scrunched her nose up, her brother laughing and hitting her gently.

“I’ll have my own room, so I’ll be able to hide.” Keith smiled at her.

“Hide? Hide from what? You’re not even moved in yet and you’re already talking about ignoring me?” Shiro wrapped his arm around his brother’s shoulders, smiling down at him.

“We were just talking about how disgusting our friendship is.” Matt smiled at him.

“Right, _friendship_.” Keith and Pidge scoffed together.

“Come on, we should go out to celebrate. On me” Mr. Holt said with a smile, wrapping his arms around his two children’s shoulders. “You joining us Lance?”

“I-I…” Lance looked up at him, then at Keith who looked at him expectantly. “Yeah, I’d love to.”

*-*-*-*-*-*

Lance sighed as he followed the sounds of fighting. He wasn’t surprised when he found the source and saw Keith surrounded by three other boys, his fists bruised, blood dripping down from his brow.

“Hey!” Lance yelled and all four boys looked up at him.

“Oh look! It’s the little fag’s boyfriend!” One of the boys laughed, sparking the other two to bark out their own sadistic laughter.

Keith growled and tackled the one that spoke to the ground. The boy screamed and one of the others quickly tried to kick Keith off as he lashed out at him. The other boy walked towards Lance, who took a few steps back but the collar of his shirt of grabbed.

“Leave him out of this!” Keith yelled as he was pulled off the ground. He quickly got out of the kid’s grip to pulled the boy off of Lance, elbowing his face and probably breaking his nose. “You want to fight, leave him out of it.”

“I didn’t know the gays were so protective.” One of them scoffed, spitting out some blood. “But let’s blow.”

Lance let out a sigh of relief when they all started walking away. He looked at Keith with a cocky grin. “Blow? That’s a little gay for someone that beats someone up for liking guys.”

Keith rolled his eyes, wiping the blood out of his eyes. “You’re ridiculous.”

He winked at him and put his hands behind his head. “You’re a mess. If you go home like that, Shiro’s going to have a cow. He’s literally going to give birth to a full grown cow in your living room.”

“Shut up. What else am I supposed to do?”

“Well, I could take you home, clean you up. I think I still have some of that concealer from that last fight you got into.”

“I hate you.” Keith crossed his arms, starting to walk away.

“Where are you going?” Lance stared after him.

“Your house? Are you not joining me?”

*-*-*-*-*-*

“Have you talked to Keith yet?” Hunk asked as Lance was rummaging through his locker.

“No, not since Friday. He said he was busy this weekend.” Lance glanced at his best friend, who sounded more worried than he should’ve.

“Just heard a rumor on my way in. Didn’t know if…”

Lance slammed his locker shut. “Who they saying he fucked this week?”

“Uh… uh…” Hunk cleared his throat under the intense gaze of the other boy. “Louis Zimmer.”

Barking out a laugh, Lance turned away from Hunk. “Zimmer? My man Keith has standards, and Louis doesn’t meet them.”

“You mean you hope he has a type, and you hope that you fit it?” Hunk raised his eyebrows as he followed Lance.

“ _No_.” Lance winked at the captain of the cheer squad, then at her boyfriend. “Keith wouldn’t date that scum bag.”

“The rumors didn’t say anything about a date.” Hunk huffed.

“It’s not like you to believe rumors so easily. Getting on the football team has changed you my friend.” Lance patted Hunk’s arm when he spotted Keith trying to pry open his locker.

Lance leaned against the lockers next to Keith’s. Keith had his hair back in a ponytail and it did things to Lance. “Hey, how was your weekend?”

“So, you want to know whether he was good fuck or not too, huh?” Keith glared at him as he finally got the locker open. A few notes fell out and Lance quickly ducked to pick them up. He opened one and grimaced.

“Kids are cruel. You should really tell the principal or something.” Lance crumbled up the note in his hand. He wanted to burn it so no one would have to look at it again.

“Tell him what? That everyone hates me because I sleep around?” Keith picked up one of the notes that was still on top of his text books. Lance grabbed it out of his hand so he wouldn’t read it.

“Dude…” Lance started, but got interrupted by someone yelling at them as they passed.

“Watch out McClain, you never know what you’re going to catch!”

Keith’s hand gripped the locker door tightly and Lance just sighed. “Dude, don’t let them get to you. High school is only four years.”

“I know it’s hard for you, but could you just keep quiet?” Keith said through gritted teeth. Someone passed by and yelled ‘fucking slut’ at them. Lance put his hand on Keith’s shoulder when he turned to yell something back.

“Calm down. You’re not a slut. So, you’ve slept with a few people, no big deal.” Lance smiled at him.

“Apparently, everyone else thinks differently.” Keith looked at him, visibly calming at his words and his touch.

“Doesn’t matter what they think. I don’t think you’re a slut.”

Keith rolled his eyes, turning back to his locker. “Says the biggest virgin in school. At this rate, Pidge will lose her virginity before you.”

“Hey! I’m saving myself for someone special; I don’t want it to just be sex and that’s my personal choice!” Lance glared at him, leaning against the metal of the lockers again.

Laughing, Keith looked at him. “Yeah? How’s that going for you?”

“I have someone in mind, I’m just trying to warm him up to the idea.” Lance grinned at him, his face slightly red.

“Good luck with that. Aren’t you batting at zero for dates this year?”

“You wound me!” Lance put his hand over his chest. “I’m not going to give up.”

“Whatever, walk me to class.” Keith shut his locker and turned towards him.

“What? And have everyone think I’m dating the school slut?” Lance grinned at him and Keith’s face went pale. Softening his smile, Lance took Keith's books with one hand and wrapped his other arm around his shoulders. “I’m kidding, come on.”

With a groan, Keith covered his face. "I hate you." He let Lance lead him down the hallway like that though.

*-*-*-*-*-*

“So, Keith…” Lance started, looking down at the table. Keith glanced at him but didn’t say anything. “I have a question.”

“I have an answer?” Keith glanced over at where Pidge and Hunk were sitting across the library, talking about something related to computers or cars or something. Lance had asked them to get their own table. Hunk was curious but conceded easily, Pidge on the other hand was an asshole about it. 

“I was thinking, this weekend… we could go see a movie?” His face was flushed when he looked up at the other boy, who looked confused. It wouldn't have been the first time they had seen a movie together, but it would be the first time just the two of them.

“A movie?” 

“Yeah, and maybe grab dinner or something after. I-…” Lance scratched the back of his neck.

“Are you… are you asking me out on a _date_?” Keith sounded completely baffled by the entire idea of a date.

“Yes?” Lance bit his lip. “Will you go on a date with me?”

Standing up, Keith gathered up his books. It was happening so quickly, Lance didn't have time to read the expression on Keith's face. “No.”

Lance stared at his empty chair after the other boy booked it out of the library, swearing at a group of people that were blocking the door. Then getting yelled out by the librarian.

Hunk and Pidge came and sat with him, not saying anything, just hugging him silently as he still stared at the empty chair.

Later that night, Lance was laying in his room, staring at his homework absently when his phone rang. He expected it to be Pidge or Hunk yelling at him to stop moping. It was Keith.

“Oh, hey Keith, what’s up?” Lance felt tired, but he was proud of how he sounded. It could’ve come out so much worse.

“I uh… about earlier, about the movie, if you’re still… I mean if… I want to go…” Keith stammered on the other side of the line.

“Really?” Lance all but yelled it through the phone, jumping off his bed. “Dude, I was so bummed out when you turned me down! I’m sorry if I caught you off guard, but I just… I’ve been trying to get up the courage all year…”

He kept rambling and when he finally stopped to catch his breath, he heard Keith chuckle on the other side of the conversation.

“I’m sorry. I-I… I was scared to mess up our friendship, that I’d try to move to fast or something. I know how much you…” Keith swore to himself and Lance smiled. “How much you want a relationship and not _just_ sex.”

“You want that too?”

“We’ll see how the date goes.”

“That’s cold man.” Lance bit his lip and Keith laughed again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: Keith didn't join the soccer team - joined the volleyball team. He was on the volleyball team for about two months before his foster parents agreed to pay for Tae Kwon Do classes. They stopped paying for them when he put a kid he got into a fight with in the hospital a few months later. He eventually joined the swim team, sticking with it. Lance quit playing soccer when they got to high school, switching to track and cheer leading, the second was to pick of chicks of course. Pidge was in the marching band, she plays trombone; she was the president of the debate team until she got into a fist fight during a competition. Hunk made the football team as a sophmore, before that he was in the band with Pidge and played the flute.


	16. Isolated

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to our regularly scheduled pain.

The next few days go by in a blur for Lance. A blur of dancing, fucking, cleaning, and trying to spend as much time with Keith as possible. It was hard to squeeze in time for small quiet moments between the chores and the work and people harassing Keith, but they somehow managed a few moments for themselves. Shared showers, quietly lying together before shows, lingering gazes between clients, that last touch of hands before they forced themselves to sleep.

Lance was sitting on his bed, watching his fellow whores lined up at the guards that handed out the drugs. Even some of the ones that didn’t usually do drugs were among them. The skipping of rest days was really starting to wear on everyone. He was sure Princess was going to drop dead if she didn’t get a day off and soon.

“Spitfire.” Lance glanced over at the other boy, who was sitting on his own bed. Keith’s eyes moved to look at him, but the rest of his body didn’t move. It was the first time the two had really had a chance to actually talk since they both got back from their own personal hells. “When was your rest day supposed to be?”

“Today.” Keith closed his eyes as he sucked in a deep breath. “I only get one every other cycle, so it’ll be about two weeks before I get one. You’re new, so you’ll be near the end the list when Haggar gives back the rest days.”

He immediately regretted looking back at the guards and the line, Princess was on her knees in front of one of them. “Do the drugs really help?”

“I-I… I wouldn’t know. I’m not allowed to have them.” Keith looked at him, his hands balled into fists, his knuckles finally healed from when he was doing whatever with the gladiators. “But, they say some of them make you numb, others help you forget, and then there are the ones that almost make it feel good.”

Nodding, Lance looked down at his hands. He still had that first syringe of sleeping drugs that he was given that first night. It probably wasn’t smart to use it, considering how long he had it, but he had been thinking about it.

“Are you thinking about using?” Keith’s voice wasn't accusatory, and Lance almost wished it was that way he would feel guilty about feeling that way, but the other boy just sounded sad. “It’s your choice, Baby Blue. If that’s what it takes to survive this, then that’s what it takes.”

“I-I’ve thought about it… it’s getting harder to sleep. I can’t stop thinking about home.”

“Isn’t it your parents’ fault that you’re here?” Those words were accusatory.

Sighing, Lance closed his eyes and dropped his head back against the wall. “I miss my sisters – I wonder what my parents told them about where I am. Hunk and Pidge were in my house when I left… I wish I could’ve said goodbye to them.”

“At least they know what happened to you. They had something concrete to tell the cops…” Keith’s voice broke and Lance quickly moved over to his bed, reaching for him.

“I would give _anything_ to go back and change what happened that day, so neither of us would be here.” Lance caressed Keith’s cheek with a sad smile. “But we’re here now and there’s nothing we can do, so we just have to hope everyone out there is still looking.”

Keith closed his eyes, scoffing dismissively. “I gave up hope that I was going to get out of here a long time ago.”

“Then how are you still fighting? You’ve been here four years, and you’re still fighting like you just got here.”

“My other option… it’s worse than this.” Opening his eyes, a pained look in them, he put his hand on Lance’s hand that was still on his cheek. “And don’t ask me what it is… Haggar told me yesterday that if I tell anyone… she’ll…”

“What?”

“Kill you.” His grip on Lance’s hand tightened and Lance’s eyes went wide. He moved his face a little closer but stopped when he sensed someone standing near them.

“So, you didn’t really have a good reason to not tell everyone the truth before?” Princess’s words were accusing and it made Keith wince. He didn’t say anything, but Lance looked at her. She looked really rough, even worse now that she was high. “You really are becoming just like them.”

Keith tensed at her words and he looked at her, fire burning behind his eyes as he moved to get off the bed. “That’s rich, coming from you, Princess.”

“Oh, you’re going to deny it? After what you did to Baby Blue?” She got up into his face, looking down at him. Despite her defensive stance, she looked like she was going to fall over.

Lance stood up, wedging himself between them. “You both need to calm down. I personally would be able to recover from the on-stage rape fiasco way quicker if everyone would stop bringing it up, thank you very much.”

Keith and Princess both tensed further, their glares still aimed at each other. Another person walked over to them, one of the guards. One of the largest and meanest of the guards.

“Who is starting fights?” His voice was loud and the entire rest of the room went silent. The man’s eyes were on Lance. “You, Baby Blue?”

“No, it was me…” Keith said quickly, moving to block Lance with body. He was easily moved out of the way, pushed to the ground in one swift movement.

The front of Lance’s shirt was grabbed and he was being pulled forward and up so he was eye to eye with the goon. “Maybe some time in the tank will make you rethink your attitude.”

“Wait, it…” Lance heard Princess protest behind him, there was a loud thunk that cut her off.

He kicked his feet out slightly, trying to struggle against the guard, but before he could land any kicks, his head was smashed against something hard and he was out cold.

When Lance woke up, it was dark and he on the ground. His arms were bound so they were immobile behind his back. Of course he was naked and he could feel cum inside of his ass, being held in an uncomfortably shaped butt plug. The air was musty and it was a little difficult to breath. There was pounding in his head and he thought he felt what was probably dried blood in his hair.

Tears came to his eyes as he laid there, trying to decide whether or not it would be worth it to try to sit up. He adjusted himself slightly and the plug adjusted too, sending a jolt of unwanted pleasure through him.

After a few centering breaths and a few slight movements, Lance had moved himself into a more comfortable position. He was still uncomfortable as hell, but it was better than the way he was thrown into the room. Despite the dark, he closed his eyes. He was unconscious long enough for them to strip him, fuck him, bind him, and then throw him into the tiny room, but he couldn’t be sure how long he had actually been in the room. He also had no idea how long he’d be stuck in the room alone.

He probably shouldn’t have been sleeping, since it was pretty clear that he had a concussion, but there was nothing else for him to do in the tiny room, bound and alone. The only other thing he could do was worry, especially about Keith and Princess. Lance could only imagine how guilty the two of them felt for getting him stuck in isolation. Especially Keith, who already blamed himself for the pain and suffering of the entire whorehouse.

It was days that passed before the door opened. The light was blinding, he squinted against it as he tried to see who was at the door, but it was impossible to make out the features as his eyes adjusted. The fresh air was welcome, taking a few deep breaths as he pulled off the ground by his bound arms. A few clicks of locks and his arms were able to move again.

There was something being held out to him and he took it, his arms felt strange and foreign as he gripped the large mug of water. He blinked down at before he brought it up to dry lips. At first he choked, like he had forgotten how drinking worked. Lance was so thirsty, that it didn’t take long to finish the mug.

“Grab some food, curtain call is in an hour.” The person that had handed him the cup said. Then he was gone again with the empty mug.

His legs were shaky from disuse, but he made it to the kitchen. There was a small plate of bread and mystery meat that was probably for him. And more water. He ate quickly, wanting to see Keith and Princess before the show.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance has officially been a prostitute for almost two weeks at this point.
> 
> Also, I have figured out the exact length of time this fic will take place in, but I have absolutely no idea how long it's going to be? Eh?
> 
> And I've officially started the story that will be posted next, so that's a thing.


	17. Shining Armor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! So, I found a great way to express how the fluff in the fic feels, not like pillows or kittens, it is in fact steel wool. Not soft, really, painful actually, but not as bad as the fuck else is happening around it. So yeah, that's a thing I thought I'd share.

Lance stopped in the doorway of the barracks. Everyone looked up at him, and then quickly away. Keith wasn’t among them, but Princess got off her bed and walked over to him quickly. He stopped her hand, the one that was reaching for the dried blood still in his hair.

“It’s not your fault. And it’s not his fault either.” Lance looked at her seriously, his grip on her hand moving to a comforting one. “I’m okay.”

“They’ve never thrown anyone in there for that long before, how can you say you’re okay?” She looked at him, panic in her eyes.

“Except Spitfire. A couple of times he spent over a week in the box.” One of the others said from their bed. “Last tally, he’s spent almost 200 days total in isolation.”

“How long has it been exactly?” Lance ignored the words, his focus still on Princess.

“Five days. We need to get you cleaned up.” She managed to touch his head injury and he closed his eyes tightly. It was mostly healed, but it was still a little painful to the touch. He let her lead him to the bathroom. Princess gasped when she was behind him. He had forgotten about the plug in his ass, he had become numb to it. “Are you…”

“Would you mind… getting it out for me? It’s… it’ll probably hurt less if…” He braced himself against the shower wall. She made a few small distressed noises before he felt her hands on his ass. Once it was out, he turned to look at in her hand, going pale when he finally saw the thing that had been inside of him for five days. “Thanks…”

“Y-Yeah…” She dropped it, her hand shaking slightly. “I should let you get cleaned up…”

“Princess, where’s Spitfire?” Lance turned on the water, flinching at how cold it was.

“He’s been with Lotor, but with curtain call coming up, he should be back soon. I’ll make sure he comes talk to you…”

He glanced over at the entryway and noticed that she was gone before he got a chance to reply. The water suddenly changed to scolding hot and stepped out from under the stream. Before he was put in isolation, the water temperature had been pretty stable. Swearing, he readjusted the knob, but it didn’t change. They probably somehow changed the way the water worked just to make them even more miserable, or he was just paranoid.

He’d been finished with his shower for a while before he finally turned off the water and toweled off. There were voices by the entrance to the bathroom, and he moved closer.

“I… I can’t…” Keith’s voice.

“He wants to see you.” Her voice.

“I can’t look him in the eye, not after…” She started to say something, but he cut her off. He sounded so broken. “You didn’t see the video! What he did to him! Because of me… I can’t…”

“You approached him after…”

“It was different! This is different! They know about _us_ now and they’re trying to…” Keith almost sounded like he was on the edge of tears.

Lance bit his lip hard, as he walked out of the bathroom. “It wasn’t your fault.”

Keith’s gaze snapped to him, and he looked almost as broken as he sounded. “I-I… I’m sorry.”

Without saying anything, Lance just pulled Keith in for a hug. Keith pressed his face into his shoulder, and Lance felt tears on his skin.

“What he did to you…”

“Thinking about you… it’s what got me through it, so don’t blame yourself for what he did. He’s the one that did it.” Lance carded his fingers through Keith’s hair. “And honestly, isolation was the break I needed.”

“You have a joke for everything.” Keith let out a huff, his face still buried in the crook of Lance’s neck. “How can you still make jokes?”

“I’ve only been here a few weeks, they’re not going to take away your favorite thing about me so easily.” Lance gently pushed Keith back so he could give him a cheeky grin. Keith smiled back at him, rolling his eyes as he did.

“Good.” Keith pressed his forehead against Lance’s. Their smiles softened as they looked at each other. Then their little private moment shattered.

“What a beautiful couple.” Lotor’s voice made them both grimace as they moved away from each other. “No, no, don’t let me ruin the mood.”

Lance felt like the air the room thickening as Keith took a step in front of him. Everyone else in the room was tense and shocked. It probably wasn’t often that Lotor visited the barracks.

“Don’t look at me with such suspicion, Spitfire.” Lotor walked in farther, stopping only when he was close enough to grab Keith by the chin. “I only wanted to see how Baby Blue liked his isolation, see if he learned his lesson.”

“What lesson was he supposed to learn? He didn’t do anything! Princess and I were the ones fighting.” Keith spat out at Lotor defiantly.

“It wasn’t the first time he had broken up a fight with you in it. We both know that you don’t need anyone to protect you.” Lotor leaned in close to whisper in Keith’s ear, but Lance was close enough that he could hear. Of course, Keith didn’t need protected, he’d never needed protected the entire time that Lance had known him, but he had always needed an ally.

“No, he needs someone to defend him.” Lance looked over Keith’s shoulder, glaring at Lotor. It was as daring as he was willing to be, still behind the smaller man.

“Oh? So, you really think you’re his knight in shining armor?” Lotor let go of Keith’s chin, looking at Lance with amusement. “Would you still defend him, if you knew the truth about what he was?”

“Whatever you think he is, whatever you want him to be, doesn’t matter to me. I know who and what he is.”

“We’ll see.” Lotor turned and started walking away. “You’ll need to make up for the time you were off the menu. So many people were asking about you.”

Lance tensed behind Keith, his eyes still on Lotor.

“And, Spitfire, there are still hours worth of video for the two of us _enjoy_ together.” Then Lotor left the room.

Both boys stood there, Lance’s entire body tense and Keith’s shaking. When Keith finally turned to Lance, he bit his lip. “I-I…”

Reaching for Keith, the movements stiff, Lance shook his head. “Don’t.” Then he gently pressed his lips to Keith’s. “Don’t say anything.”

With a small nod, Keith kissed him back, short and sweet. There were murmurs around them as people started getting up to get ready for the show, but they only broke apart when Princess gently touched Lance’s arm.

“We better not be late for curtain call. Especially with how much the two of you are already in trouble.” She smiled at them sadly. They broke apart, but quickly linked their hands between them as they followed her to the dressing room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, hey again, hope you enjoyed the chapter (it was short wasn't it? eh, writing is hard sometimes), I have a favor actually. I wanna do some one shots but I want to do like happy one shots because the two I have planned for Voltron are also painful. If you have anything cute or fluffy you really want to see and would like to see with my charmingly odd writing style, let me know (pick any of the fandoms I've already written for, doesn't have to be Voltron I suppose).
> 
> Be on the look out for two painful one shots, both will be Klance, both will be sickfics.


	18. Overtime

When they walked into the dressing room, Lance and Keith were both tense. Their hands were still together between them. Everyone already knew, there wasn’t much point in hiding anything, at least that’s what Lance thought. He had no way of knowing if the other boy agreed but Lance suspected that Keith still wanted to try to minimize the obviousness of their relationship, if only to protect him.

Haggar walked towards them, taking Lance’s chin in her hand. “Baby Blue. Everyone had been missing you terribly. The next few days, you’ll be working overtime, but don’t think that having to work extra hours is going to get you out of your chores.”

Lance glared at her, but didn’t say anything. She smiled and turned her attention to Keith. “And Spitfire, don’t get any ideas of doing his chore for him. If any of the guards catch you doing his chores, I have some things I’ve been meaning to try and I’d love to have him be the guinea pig.”

“Then when is he supposed to sleep, rest?” Keith spat at her.

“That’s sort of the point, boy. He isn’t.” She ran a finger down Keith’s chest. “Now, are we clear?”

Gritting his teeth and not looking at her, Keith managed to nod.

“Good.” She turned away from then, her gaze going to Princess. Haggar walked over and talked to the girl in hushed tones.

Keith was shaking next to him, and Lance took his shoulders in his hands. He steadied slightly, but didn’t look up at him. “Hey, it’s fine. This next few days are going to be terrible, but they’re going to end and maybe things will settle into something… less bad. I’ll get through it.”

“How long are you going to be able to ‘get through it’?” Keith shook his head, still shaking and still not looking at Lance.

“As long as it takes. As long as we’re here together.” Lance moved his hands to cup Keith’s cheeks.

Before Keith could reply, one of the guards were calling for him. Lance pressed a kiss to Keith’s forehead before following him out of the dressing room.

Lance spent the entire night chained up in the group sex room, taking pounding after pounding. For most of the night, there was a line waiting to fuck him. One of the guards was standing next to him, collecting cash before a cock entered his ass or his mouth. A few times, Keith and Princess took a client in the same room. They gave him a brief acknowledge just when they came in and just before they left each time.

He collapsed to the ground when he was finally released from the restraints. The club was closed, but the guard that had let him down was talking about special services for gang members. Lance had only a few minutes to catch his breath before he was thrown around between official members of the gang. Some were guards from the club, but most he had never seen before. They were all brutal on him. The first person that had fucked him that night had prepped him, so he was plenty loose enough not to have any tearing, but it was still painful.

When they were finished with him, he couldn’t walk. He couldn’t even stand. One of the guards that hadn’t been part of passing him around picked him up, hoisting him over his shoulder. Lance didn’t even try to fight.

Most other people were already in bed, and it was almost lights out. Lance was thrown in the shower and the guard turned the water to scolding hot, but he didn’t care enough to move as he sat there, letting the cum drip out of his ass.

Eventually he managed to stand, scrubbing off the day quickly before turning off the water. He was still hungry from his days in isolation, but he was also sick from the amount of cum he had swallowed. Leaning over one of the toilets, he forced himself to throw up. It made him feel better, and more hungry.

Keith was sitting at the edge of his bed when Lance finally came out of the shower. The lights were out and everyone was asleep, or trying to. Lance’s eyes went to the thing sitting in front of him. It looked like half a sandwich and juice box. With a small smile, he sat next to Keith, motioning to the food. Handing it over the sandwich, he tucked a piece of his hair behind his ear. Watching him made Lance’s heart ache, like it always did. As much as he claimed to hate Keith’s hair, he’d always loved watching him fidget with it.

“I saved it, they said that if you missed dinner, then you weren’t getting anything.” Keith’s voice was quiet, but several shushes came from the beds around them.

Lance pressed a kiss to the other boy’s cheek before digging into the food and then taking the juice box. It was almost completely full. He looked at Keith and frowned as he put the straw in his mouth. Food was something sacred around there, it was one of the few things he never saw the others sharing. Of course, he had noticed that Keith usually got more than everyone else, not much more, a larger helping a bread or more meat on a sandwich, just enough that it was obvious. Knowing that didn’t make him feel any less guilty for making Keith give up half his food.

Once he was done, he sighed, looking up at the chore board. He’d have to get closer to actually make out his name on the board in the darkness. “I guess I should go do my chore.”

Keith caught it face in his hand gently. “It was taken care of.” Lance looked at him with wide eyes and Keith looked around the room. “I swear it wasn’t me, but I’m not sure who actually did it.”

There were people shushing him again.

Lance thought that it was Princess, but Keith just shook his head when Lance looked over at her bed. He thought everyone else hated him because of his connection to Keith, but maybe they were finally warming up to him, or felt bad for him. Whatever it was, he was greatful.

The next morning, after eating, Lance was pulled away by Lotor without a word. He was pushed into the party room with seven people, all wearing masks and nothing else. Lance glanced at Lotor, who grinned.

“I assure you, ladies and gentlemen, Baby Blue will give you the best time of your life.”

As they pulled him onto the round bed in the middle of the room, he closed his eyes and hoped that his rest day would be at the end of the over time. He entertained the people until just before the club was set to open for real. They were drinking heavily and by the end, most of the guys couldn’t even get it up. It didn’t take long for them to take it out on his face.

His nose was bleeding when he walked back into the barracks. Only half an hour until curtain call. Keith followed him into the bathroom, stripping down himself and joining him under the spray of the water just so he could hold him. As they stood there, Keith told him that the others had done his chore again.

At least he had that, and Keith.

He was the opening act, and he did the same thing as other nights. It was good enough that people were cheering and that he had a line again when they chained him up in the group room just like the night before.

The same as the night before, once the club closed, the gang members took turns with him. The bartender from that first night was especially terrible because he was so slow, and it completely wrecked him. He came twice while the bartender was fucking him.

It was after lights out that he walked into the barracks, he managed to sneak into the kitchen to down two glasses of water. Keith was laying in his bed, his covers all the way up to his ears. Lance smiled at him as he limped past him. Whatever was for dinner must not have been easily sneakable.

When Lance laid in his bed, he looked at Keith again and the other boy blinked at him sleepily. He reached his hand out to Lance like that had ever night Lance had been there. Lance reached back. There was a small smile on Keith’s face when he took his hand back and rolled over. If the beds were just a few inches closer, it would be so easy to just let their hands together between them while they slept.

The next two days went similarly. Early mornings, late nights. His ass was throbbing with pain, his throat hoarse, and his balls almost completely spent. Other people kept doing his chores for him. Keith and him didn’t have any time to talk, but Lance took any moment he could to hold or be held. In the little time he did spend with the others, he heard mumblings that Lotor hadn’t been fucking anyone for the last several days, and it was worrying.

On the fifth day, Lance looked at the rest day schedule. One of the guards was adjusting it accordingly. Horse’s name was taken off, two other names were switched, and Baby Blue was added for the next day. With a sigh of relief, he looked over at Keith, who was still lying in bed and facing away from him.

Once the guard was gone, he sat on Keith’s bed and gently shook his shoulder. Keith sounded annoyed as he rolled over so he could look at Lance. “What’s up?”

“I’m getting a rest day tomorrow.” Lance cupped Keith’s cheek. The other boy looked so tired and Lance hated it. If he could, he’d give up his rest day so Keith could get some rest.

“Good, you need it.” Keith smiled up at him, his eyes going closed again.

“You need one too.” He moved his hand so he was running his fingers through Keith’s hair. It was soft, and less knotted than it should’ve been. Keith let out a small noise of contentment at the feeling.

“I’ll be okay, I always am.” He yawned, adjusting himself so he was curled around Lance with his head on his lap. They stayed like that for only a few seconds before another guard was calling for Baby Blue. One more day of overtime and then he would get to stay in bed for a full 24 hours. It was something to look forward to at least.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Series stuff update: I'm going to post Keith's side, the happy ending part, then go back and do Shiro's and Allura's after.


	19. Rest Day

Lance collapsed onto a bed once he finished cleaning up. He was so tired that he didn’t really pay attention that he missed his own bed until Keith moved under him.

“What are you doing?” Keith huffed out, narrowing his eyes at Lance.

“Oh…” Lance moved to get up, frowning. “Sorry, I meant to lay in mine, really.”

With a sigh, Keith grabbed his wrist. “Tomorrow, I’ll try to get my chore quickly and we can lay together for a while, maybe talk.”

“I’d like that. Goodnight, Ke-… Sp-… get some sleep.” Lance ran his free hand through Keith’s mullet.

“You too.” Keith brought up the hand he had a hold of to his face, gentling kissing his fingers.

Once Lance was on his own bed, their fingers lingered between them. Lance looked over at Keith and it looked like the other boy had fallen asleep with their hands like that. With a small smile, Lance pulled his hand away turned away.

That morning after breakfast, Lance sat on his bed, watching everyone walk in and out of the barracks. His mind was elsewhere as he held his knees against his chest. He wondered how his sisters were, they had to miss him. He missed them so much, more than he ever had while he was at school. A part of him hoped that his parents hadn’t lied to them, but another part never wanted them to know the truth of where he was. Having time to think wasn’t as much of a blessing as he had thought. Remembering what was waiting for him at home only made everything harder.

He jumped when he felt a hand on his knee. Princess pulled it off quickly but smiled at him. “Hey, you okay?”

“I’m getting a rest day, how could I not be?” He tried smiling back at her, but it was something closer to a grimace.

“Are you… thinking about your family?”

“Yeah. I’m here because my parents took a loan they couldn’t pay to send me to college, and I couldn’t let them take my mom.” Lance couldn’t look at her. She had told him that they weren’t supposed to talk about their real lives, but he needed to talk to someone. Talking to Keith about it always ended with the other boy in a rage about how he should be anger with his parents. “I have three little sisters. I had only been home a week after being away for months and now I’m here. It’s been, what, three weeks or something?”

“I don’t know. We sort of lose our sense of time here, days bled together.” She moved closer, putting her hand on his knee. “What month even when you got here?”

“It was… December. Late December. It’s the new year by now.” Lance crossed his arms, digging his nails into his arms. He closed his eyes tightly as he tried remembered the exact date he left so he could figure out when Chrismas was. Swallowing hard, he managed to realize and he resolved that Keith would never know if he could help it. “It was the first Christmas, the first New Years that I wasn’t with my family.”

“I’m sorry, I can only imagine how hard it was for your sisters. I’m an only child, so I don’t really…” She sighed and looked up at the ceiling. “My name is Allura.”

“Al-… Why are you telling me?” Lance looked at her, his confusion obvious.

“Because I know yours, it felt unfair to know yours and for you not to know mine. If we ever get out of here, I hope we can call each other by our real names.”

“Me too.” His smile was sincere. “If you don’t mind, how did you get here?”

“My father was the leader of his own gang, a rival gang to the Galra. When Zarkon took him out, he claimed me, for himself and for the gang. For the first few months after I was taken, I only… serviced Zarkon. I didn’t come here until he got bored of me.” She looked down, the pain evident on her face.

“I’m sorry. Do you still have people…?” Lance leaned forward to put a hand on her shoulder.

“Just my father’s right-hand man made it out, but he’s in a delicate position and wouldn’t be able to really look for me.” Tears were hanging in her lashes when she closed her eyes. “None of us are getting free of this life unless the cops find this place.”

He wrapped his arms around her shoulder, nuzzling into her shoulder. She turned and hugged him back. They were both damping each others shoulders with tears, and they didn’t look at the other when they finally pulled apart.

“Hey, Princess.” Lance said when she got up, she paused but didn’t turn back to him as she wiped her eyes. “I want to thank the people that have been doing my chores, what should I do?”

“Try to keep Spitfire from getting them in trouble.” She sighed, sounding slightly annoyed, not at him though.

Snorting, Lance laid back on his bed. “Yeah, I’ll see what I can do. I can’t exactly control how Lotor reacts.”

“No, but you can control Spitfire.”

He couldn’t help but laugh. Half the time, Keith couldn’t control himself. In the years they had known him, Keith had listened to Lance probably a handful of times, getting a varying success rate from his advice. “Alright, alright.”

“Baby Blue?” He let out a hum to let her know he was listening. “Sometime, I’d love to hear about your sisters.”

With a smile, he let out another hum to agree. He closed his eyes, thinking he’d get a few moments of shut eyes before he saw Keith. If he couldn’t get to lay with him and talk like he wanted, he would survive, but he had to at least see the other boy.

It was a while before Keith came in. Lance only knew that the other boy was back because there was another body pressing against his, and he recognized the weight and shape. He opened one of his eyes and looked down at him. Keith had tucked his head under his chin, so Lance couldn’t see his face.

“You okay?” Lance wrapped his arms around him tightly.

“I-I… I’m just really exhausted.” He sounded like he was.

“We can talk some other time, get some sleep. I’ll wake you up before curtain call.” He rested his head back.

“Are you… are you sure? I know that you…”

Lance shushed him, soothing circles into his shoulder blade. “I’m sure. _Sleep_.”

The sigh Keith let out sounded annoyed, but he just readjusted himself so he was a little more comfortable. Lance kept soothing circles into his skin, starting to hum quietly, until he was sure the other boy was asleep.

Once he was sure Keith was sleeping, his mind started wandering again. He stared up at the ceiling as he wondered whether or not Pidge and Hunk were back at school yet, or if they still had more time before they had to go back. Or if they weren’t going back, because of him. It couldn’t have been easy to have to listen to him offer himself up to take his mother’s place. To walk downstairs of his house and wonder if he’d ever be back. There was no way of knowing if they had talked to his mother before they left, but he imagined Pidge screaming at her and Hunk gently trying to calm her down while his mother just fell into a mess of tears on the floor. He was just another person that had been taken away from Pidge.

He squeezed Keith gently, and the boy on top of him made a small noise of contentment at the small affection. Even with everything he was going through, that his friends and family were going through, he wouldn’t regret his decision to take his mother’s place. She would never had lasted in the Den, and Keith would still have been alone.

When everyone around him started moving around him, he sighed and gently nudged Keith awake. “Hey, you got to wake up. It’s almost curtain call.” He nuzzled into Keith’s hair.

Keith made an adorable noise as he pressed his face into Lance’s chest. “M’kay…”

“Sorry, I wish we could stay like this.” He smoothed a hand over his back.

“Forever.” Keith said sleepily as he lifted his head off Lance’s chest.

“Yeah, maybe someday we can.” With a smile, Lance cupped the other boy’s cheek.

Keith pressed his lips against Lance’s and got off the bed. “I’ll see you after close.”

Lance just nodded before Keith left the room. He groaned as he covered his face. If only his and Keith’s rest days could be at the same time, but that would never ever happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three weeks since he arrived, but who's counting? (I am because other wise I'll lose track and have this part of the story end way sooner or way later than I actually want it to, and both would be bad.)


	20. Bloodbath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith is my favorite VLD character, not that you could tell by the shit I'm putting him through in this fic.

 

Lance didn’t know how long it had been since he had his rest day, but it hadn’t been quite a week yet because he hadn’t had another one yet. The days hadn’t been too bad, they were starting to become monotonous — painful, exhausting, and humiliating, but monotonous. Cleaning, stripping, fucking. He hadn’t seen Lotor in days, and it still sounded like he hadn’t fucked anyone. It was probably going on two weeks that he hadn’t laid a hand on anyone. Everyone was terrified by it.

Then Keith was called into Lotor’s office. Lance kept grabbing him, hugging him tightly on his way out of the barracks, but eventually Keith disappeared with a grimace etched on his face. In his anxious state, Lance paced in the aisle of the barracks. Everyone was watchimg, he was the most interesting thing happening, until Keith came back. Then Keith and whatever group punishment came with him would be the most interesting thing.

It wasn’t long, as long as they were expecting, before Keith hobbled back into the room. Lance rushed to him, catching him as he started falling forward. His back was covered in blood and fresh wounds.

“I got you, you’re going to be alright.” Lance said in Keith’s ear as he moved his blood covered hands to Keith’s face. Keith looked so out of it.

“I think I’m going to pass out.”

“No, no you’re not.” He moved his arms to pick up the other boy bridal style. Keith let his head rest against Lance’s shoulder. Lance swallowed hard before looking around at the others. “Do we have bandages or something? I think he’s going to bleed out if we don’t do something.”

A few of the other murmured that it would be better if he died, but a few got up and opened up their chests, rummaging through them until they pulled out clothes that were all but rags. Lance kissed the top of Keith’s head before setting him down on his bed.

Keith’s hands reached for him as Lance pulled away and it made it hard to breathe. “Stay with me, okay bud?”

“I’m not going anywhere, promise.” There was a small smile on Keith’s face, but Lance forced himself to turn away to take the rags from the others. Princess sat on the other side of Keith.

“I’ll hold him up, you bandage him. It’s probably not the most sanitary, but it’s better than bleeding to death.” Princess looked at Lance, who nodded and started to rip the clothes into strips. She looked down at Keith. “You okay for me to lift you up?”

“Thank you.” Keith held his hands out to her. He whimpered as Lance wrapped the scraps of clothing around him, and Lance just kept shushing him. Once Lance had him mostly covered, Princess gently set him back down on his side.

Lance ran his bloodied hands through Keith’s hair. He looked down him. Keith was still wearing his pants, so there probably wasn’t any sex involved in what Lotor did. “They can’t make you work like this.”

“They can, and they will.” Princess sighed as she got up, heading to the bathroom. “They just won’t make him perform.”

“No…” Lance closed his eyes tightly, shaking. Keith touched his cheek gently.

“I’ll be okay.”

“ _Will_ be… meaning you’re not okay now, and you definitely won’t be okay by tonight.” He could feel tears welling at his eyes. “Why the fuck did he do this?”

“He got his dick pierced, so he can’t fuck right now.” Keith’s voice was so tired sounding, and so casual. “Took out his frustration on me.”

Lance opened his eyes and looked down at Keith. He could feel the tension in the room as everyone else went silent. There was a heavy question in the air.

“W-What kind of piercing?” Lance swallowed hard. He knew next to nothing about male gential piercings, other than they scared the shit out of him.

“Prince Albert.” Keith closed his eyes, and Lance shook him slightly. The other boy just whined. Lance had no idea what that was, but he didn’t like the sound of it. He didn’t want it anywhere near his ass. He also wanted Keith to stay awake.

“What’s a Prince Albert?” Lance cupped Keith’s cheeks, and the other boy opened his eyes slightly with a confused hum.

“It’s the one that goes through your urethra, right at the tip.” Keith made some kind of motion with his hands, it both confused and sickened Lance.

“Why do you know that?” Lance furrowed his brows together as he looked down at him.

“I was thinking about getting a piercing, before… I chickened out, no one would do one without permission from a guardian…” Keith grimaced, his eyes focusing on Lance. “There was no way I was having that talk with Shiro.”

Letting out a huff of laughter, Lance leaned down to press a kiss to his lips. Keith smiled against his lips.

“I’m so cold… so tired…”

With wide eyes, Lance moved onto the bed next to him, cuddling up close. “I know, I know, just stay with me a little while longer, okay?”

Keith gripped at his shirt tightly, closing his eyes. “I-I… I can’t do this.”

“Yes, you can. You’ve been through this shit for four years, and you’re not quitting on yourself, damn it. I’m not going to let you give up now.”

He made a whining noise as tucked his head under Lance’s chin. “Everything has been different since you got here. Why did you have to…”

“It doesn’t matter, I’m here now, and we’re getting out of this hell together, okay?” When Keith went a while without replying, Lance shook him. “Hey, tell me, did Lotor mention why he got his dick pierced?”

“Family tradition.” Keith’s voice was so quiet, if he was any farther away, he wouldn’t have heard him.

“Oh. So, Zarkon has…”

“An ampallang… it’s the one that goes straight through the head.” Keith shivered and Lance held him tighter. “It’s… it’s not…”

Lance kissed the top of his head. So, Keith had been raped by Zarkon at least once. He didn’t know all the details, but Keith’s life was already the definition of terrible before the day he went missing. After everything he had suffered at the hands of the Galra, Lance didn’t think there was a word that conveyed how horrible Keith’s life was.

“If you go into the dressing room covered in blood like that, Lotor’s going to be pissed and you might end up just like Spitfire.” Princess was kneeling next to the bed. Lance had been keeping Keith awake for at least an hour, and he was pretty sure that the other boy had finally stopped bleeding.

“It’s okay, I-I… go clean up. They’ll probably come move me soon anyway.” Keith’s voice was hoarse from the effort of breathing and talking in his current state. Lance kissed him gently before he got up. “I’ll be okay.”

“ _Will_ be.” Lance huffed as he walked into the bathroom. There was so much blood that was going down the drain. He felt like it was miracle that Keith wasn’t dead.

When he came out of the bathroom, Keith was gone. His mattress was soaked in his blood. Lance turned back into the bathroom and bent over one of the toilets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, look, I put a total chapters number up! That means I actually wrote down an outline of what's going to happen yet, which is a terrifying list really. (Wooah, oh, we're half way there). We have some options for what we're doing after this - you can go straight into Keith's side of the story (which I have some written for) or we can do the recovery/domestic fluff (so much fluff) part of the series. You're going to get both (also Shiro's and Allura's sides), but which do you want first?


	21. Horrors to Come

Lance couldn’t help but spend the entire night worrying about Keith, which got in more than a little trouble. None of his clients wanted him to lie there take it, like a doll, they wanted him to do the work. Every single one of his clients slapped him around, his head was pounding and he was sure one of his ribs was cracked by the end of the night. There was even a few shallow cuts on his outer hip that burned, but had stopped bleeding.

He walked passed a room with an open door as he walked back to the barracks. His eyes fell on the form lying on the floor and he couldn’t breathe. Without another thought, he was in the room, pulling Keith’s head onto his lap. The other boy was unconscious, but breathing.

“Keith, hey, wake up for me, please.” Lance leaned his face over Keith’s as he shook his gently. “Please, I need you to wake up.”

There was not a small amount of blood, from wounds reopening just from the sex. Lance was sure the other boy had stopped bleeding again though. Keith made a pained noise as his eyelids fluttered but didn’t open.

“Babe, please, please wake up.”

When Keith didn’t wake up after s few more shakes, Lance picked him up and carried him back to the barracks. A few of the guards were watching them, but Lance just had to ignore them and focus on getting Keith cleaned up and in bed.

Princess walked towards him when he walked in, still holding Keith in his arms. “Blue, is he?”

“Barely, can you help me wash him off? Maybe getting under the water will wake him enough to get food in him and get him dressed or something.” Lance kept walking, grimacing down at Keith. He could see that was nodded, walking ahead of him to start a shower, or get one open.

Lance held Keith against him as Allura gently ran her hands over his blood soaked back. The water around them was bright red, even worse than the shower Lance had taken before his night had started. Keith kept making pitiful whimpering noises while his back was being cleaned, burying his face in Lance’s shoulder. Lance was humming a lullaby as he pressed he ran his fingers through Keith’s hair.

“Lance…” Keith muttered once Allura had finished with his back, which was all she was willing to help clean. She was still close incase Lance needed any help holding him up. Lance closed his eyes tightly. “I’m okay…”

“Shut up, you were out cold when I found you.” Lance said it softly, his one arm was holding Keith upright, the other washing off the mess on his chest. “We’re going to wash you off then we’re going to get you some food.”

“Not hungry.” Keith whimpered when Lance’s hand touched his dick.

“Sorry, you have to eat.” Lance pulled Keith a little closer and very carefully dipped his fingers into Keith’s hole. Keith flinched, but it needed cleaned out too. “Sorry about this too.”

“It’s okay, as long as it’s you.” Keith’s face was still against Lance’s shoulder. Lance kissed the top of his head, but didn’t say anything.

“Hey, would it be okay if Princess helped you back into the barracks, so I can finish cleaning myself up?” Lance asked it quietly, trying to keep his voice as soothing as possible. Keith’s hold on his tightened, and Lance took that as a no. “Okay, okay. But then you’re going to need to help me.”

It took almost twice as long as it should have, since Keith was basically dead weight against him, but Lance didn’t mind except that it meant that they were going to miss food. Keith really needed to eat. He had lost way more blood than Lance was sure was healthy.

There was food on Lance’s bed when Lance carried Keith out of the bathroom. He was still too weak to walk, but at least he was conscious. Lance glanced at Keith’s bed, which was still covered in blood, dried now, and grimaced. Keith looked confused when Lance set him down not on his own bed, but Lance’s.

“I’ll make sure you get clean sheets tomorrow, tonight you’ll sleep in my bed.” Lance tucked a piece of Keith’s hair behind his ear. “You going to eat, or do I have to feed you?”

Keith huffed, holding out his hand for the food. Lance handed to him, watching him eat for awhile. All of his movements were slow and he was shaking slightly.

“Where are you going to sleep?”

“I probably won’t, but don’t worry about me.” Lance pointed at the food in Keith’s hands when the other boy stopped eating. Keith just sighed and finished it. “Get some sleep, okay?”

Keith grabbed Lance’s hand, pulling him closer so they could kiss. He nodded as he squeezed the hand he was still holding. “Don’t do anything stupid on my behalf okay? Lotor already…”

Lance shushed him, cupping his cheek. “Hey, you know me, I never do anything stupid.”

“ _Never_?” Keith sounded amused as he rested his forehead against Lance’s. “I can think of several stupid things you have done, and most of them were either to try to get a girl, or for me.”

“Just go to sleep.”

Lance moved off the bed, his hand still in Keith’s as he sat on the floor, leaning against the chest. Keith moved so he was facing Lance, his eyes closed but his grip on Lance’s hand tightened. It didn’t take Keith long to fall asleep, and Lance watched him the entire night in the dim light. Everything was numb, but he didn’t move until the light was flipped on.

Keith groaned as his opened his eyes, blinking against the light. Lance smiled at him, finally moving, kissing him gently. “Morning, how are you feeling?”

The other boy gave him an unimpressed look, but Lance just kissed him against before standing.

“I’ll see you later, okay?”

“No, but I’m definitely too weak to actually stop you.” Keith winced as he sat up. Lance tried to smile at him, but it was more of grimace.

Lotor’s office door was open, so Lance walked in while knocking on the door frame. Lotor looked up from the papers on his desk with a deep-set frown. “Let me guess, you want me to let Spitfire rest until his back heals?”

“I’d settle for new sheets for his bed.” Lance moved closer to the desk, trying to keep his head and shoulders back, instead of cowering in fear like every fiber of his being wanted to.

Humming, Lotor leaned back in his chair. “What would you do for him?”

“Anything.” Lance had never been more certain of anything. He would do anything, _anything_ , to make Keith’s life even slightly less horrible.

“Well, I’m sure you’ve heard that I’ve gotten a Prince Albert. I’d like you to be the first person to experience it when it heals.” Lance swallowed hard but nodded. “Haggar also has some new drug mixtures she hasn’t convinced anyone to try. You’ll be her guinea pig. She assures me that they won’t kill you, but has no idea what they’ll do otherwise.”

“Okay.” He had been trying so hard to resist the urge, but it didn’t matter.

“He still has to do his chores.” Lotor held up a finger as his phone started ringing. He answered it with a smile. “Father.”

Lance kept his eyes down as he could faintly hear Zarkon on the other side of the call, but couldn’t make out the words.

“He’s actually in my office right now.”

That made Lance look up, feeling sick as he watched Lotor’s lip turn up into a grin.

“I’ll mark it in my calendar, I assure you, it’s as good as it seems.” Lotor marked something on the paper in front of him. “Vrepit Sa, Father.”

When Lotor set the phone down on the desk, he looked up at Lance, that smile still on his face. “It seems you have an appointment with my father, in two weeks one of the guards will take you to his place. He, of course, also wants Princess to come along. It’s been a while since she’s been there, I wonder if she misses her old room.”

Lance’s nails were digging into his palms and he was shaking slightly. Somehow, he managed a slight nod.

“Also, when my little Spitfire does heal, I’ll be running that special, that one with the both of you, but we’ll discuss when exactly that will be when it gets closer to time.” When Lance didn’t do anything, Lotor huffed. “I thought you’d be excited to get to have sex with him again, unless you two are fucking off the clock?”

“No, no.”

“I know you two share showers occasionally, among other things.”

“It’s never like that.” Lance closed his eyes tightly. He used to want Keith so badly, and Keith had told him how much he pined over him before, but Lance couldn’t imagine having sex with Keith now. After everything he had been through, everything Keith had been through, Lance wasn’t sure that they’d ever be able to have a sex life, even if they got out.

“I don’t believe that for a moment, but I suppose neither I nor my father have ever explicitly stated that relationships between you sluts was not allowed so there isn’t anything I can do.” Lotor looked back at the paperwork, waving his hand at Lance dismissively. “Now, go see Haggar and tell her that you’ve volunteered to try her new cocktail.”

It took Lance a few moments before he forced his feet to work, his palms were bleeding from how much his nails were digging into his skin, but he just looked straight forward to Haggar’s lab.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it's been a whole month. How long could it take for the cops to find some place as horrible as this? God only knows.


	22. Thy Drugs are Quick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quoting Shakespeare for chapter titles again, because it's never inappropriate to quote Shakespeare. I wonder if he'd approve of this story, Bill was a bit of a freak, so I like to think he would.

Keith was still sitting on Lance’s bed, he didn’t look up when Lance sat down on the bed. “So, until you heal, you’re off the hook for _work_ , but you still have to do your chore.”

“And what do you have to do, for that?” The other boy’s words were dripping with bitterness. Lance wanted to call him a hypocrite considering all Keith had been through for him, but he just sighed and put his hand on his knee.

“Don’t worry about me, it’s not that bad.”

“But what is it?” Keith looked up, his eyes narrowed slightly.

“I get to be the first to try out Lotor’s new dick piercing, and I have to test out some new drugs…” Lance bit his lip and looked away from Keith. “And, I-I… I’m going to be entertaining Zarkon at his house…”

“WHAT?”

Lance had never seen him look that angry, and it terrified him. “I think that was going to happen whether I asked Lotor for something or not…”

Arms were around him, holding him tightly. “No, he can’t… you can’t do that, I won’t let them do this to you.”

“Hey, I’ll be okay. Princess is apparently coming with me, so it can’t be that bad, right?” Lance rested his cheek against Keith’s head.

“No, it’s terrible. Zarkon… it’s…” Keith’s breathing hitched and Lance carefully soothed his hands down his back. “No…”

Quietly shushing him, Lance wasn’t sure what to say. There was probably nothing either of them could do to get Lance out of this, but Keith freaking out about it really was putting him on edge. It was weeks away, but it just meant that Lance had time to worry about it.

“Promise me that you will be careful, when you… Zarkon has a short temper and he’s even worse than Lotor.” Keith pulled back and took Lance’s face in his hands.

“So, I should under no circumstances run my mouth?” Lance put his hands on Keith’s.

“Just stick with ‘yes lord Zarkon’ and ‘no lord Zarkon’, only when he asks a direct question.” Keith nodded, his expression was so serious.

“Okay, I’ll try my best.” Lance pressed his lips against Keith’s, then moved out of his grip and off the bed. “I need to go see Haggar about getting high.”

“Lance…” Keith frowned, drawing into himself as he stared after Lance. “Have you ever done drugs before?”

“Well, I took one hit from a blunt my roommate rolled, and I thought I was going to die.” Lance huffed, looking away. “But, I guess if I’m going to do drugs, I should just dive right into mystery cocktails.”

When Keith didn’t say anything else, Lance headed out of the room and towards Haggar’s ‘lab’. He’d only been in it a few times, and never when it was being used to experiment with drugs. Lance had never even noticed anything to make drugs in the room before, not that he had spent much of his time looking around the room.

When he walked in, Haggar was standing at table with a lot glassware he remembered from high school chemistry. It wasn’t as colorful as TV science seemed and it reeked. Lance might’ve gotten high just from the fumes of whatever she was working on.

“Baby Blue.” She didn’t turn around and he hadn’t made any noise. It was creepy that she knew he was there. “What can I do for you?”

“Lotor said… said that you had a new drug.” Lance fidgeted with his hands in front of him, looking down at his feet.

“I do, are you volunteering to try it for me?” Her long fingers swirled a vial before putting it in another that was over a flame.

He nodded, but remembered she wasn’t facing him. With a deep breath, “Yes.”

“Excellent. Take a seat and I’ll get it ready for you in a moment.”

There was only one chair in the room, the same one he had been shoved in when he was tattooed. As he sat down, he noticed for the first time that there were straps on it. He looked down at his hands, resisting the urge to watch her work. Once she finished, she walked over to a glass cabinet, unlocking it to pull out a vial of purple crystals. His eyes were on her now.

“I haven’t come up with a name for it, but maybe after you tell me how it makes you feel, I’ll think of one.” She sat the vial on the table and moved to stand next to him. Lance bit his lip as she wrapped a strap around his upper arm. “I hope Lotor won’t mind some needle marks on your arm.”

Haggar dumped a few crystals on a glass dish and then put it over the flame. Once it was a boiling liquid, she drew it up into a syringe. Now that it was liquid, it was yellow. He looked away when he felt the tip of the needle on his skin. Needles usually didn’t scare him, but know what was in it, he couldn’t help but wince as he felt it break skin. The feeling of the liquid going into of his vein made him feel sick.

He dropped his head back when she removed the needle and the rubber. His heart was beating rapidly, having no idea about what was going to happen to him.

“Let me know when you feel something.” Haggar apparently had another chair somewhere because she was sitting now with a note pad, eager to jot down whatever he was about to tell her. “It was a small dose, just in case. I’d hate to kill you.”

Lance closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. There was so much terror thrumming through him as he waited to feel something. He wasn’t sure if it was the drugs, or the sitting still, but he started feeling numb. Flexing his fingers, he didn’t get a change in feeling.

“I-I… I feel numb.” Lance managed to say. His words seemed fine as he spoke, but he couldn’t really feel his mouth moving.

He could hear her pencil scratching on paper as she hummed with interest.

The numbness stayed and Lance opened his eyes as he could hear things happening the distance that he shouldn’t have been able to hear unless he was focused on them. The terrible smell in the room seemed so much more potent, he could taste it. His vision was blurry though, almost like there were swirls of color.

Haggar seemed to like this development once he managed to explain it through the fog that was seemed to enter his brain. It was so hard to think about anything other than the sensations he was feeling. Lance felt so overwhelmed by what he was feeling, but it hadn’t been long. Somehow, he doubted that the weird stuff was over, and then there would be coming down from it. He couldn’t image that coming down from something like that would feel good.

The numbness was suddenly replaced by euphoria. Every bit of his skin that was being touched by something else was so sensitive, the slightly readjustment of his body in the chair sent a jolt of pleasure through his body.

He heard her get up when he told her this newest development. She gripped his shoulder tightly and he couldn’t help but let out a moan. It made him want to cry that such a simple touch from someone like her could make him feel so good.

It had been a while since she had given him that small amount. His brain was still not functioning well, his senses were haywire, and he felt so good. She must’ve thought that it was all for the good things from the drugs because she went back to working. They were just waiting for him to come down from his high so she could take more notes.

He wasn’t sure how long he had been sitting there, blissed out and with swirling thoughts in his head and colors in front of his eyes. But slowly, the little waves of pleasures stopped. Then quickly, they were replaced with searing pain, like someone was burning all of his nerves at once. Lance doubled over as tears came to his eyes.

Haggar was bending down in front of him. It was so hard to breath. “Tell me exactly how you feel.”

It was hard to talk through the pain, but he managed. Then she was out of his field of vision. Once she was back, he barely registered that the needle was in his arm again. A few more seconds of pain, and then the numbness was back. He was still doubled over, panting from the pain. She was still hovering over him, her fingers lightly running over his arm. And then the pleasure was back as he whimpered from her touch.

“You probably still have chores to do right? I’ll give you another dose before the show tonight. We’ll up the dose tomorrow, see if it makes it more intense or last longer.” She walked over to the table and jotted down some notes.

Lance took a few deep breaths before standing up and heading back to the barracks. Each step sent a small wave through him. As he walked, a few guards bumped into him and he groaned in pleasure each time. Actually, having sex with this stuff in his system was going to wreck him before he even took the first cock. If he could think straight, he probably would have wondered how Haggar managed to make something so terrible.

Keith walked towards him and Lance put his hand up to keep Keith from reaching for him.

“What did…”

“It’s too much… I-I…” Lance wrapped his arms around himself, whimpering. Tears were coming back to his eyes as he forced himself to explain what he felt like. Keith reached for him but dropped his hand with a grimace.

“I would’ve been fine, you didn’t have to do this to yourself.”

“I’ll be fine too. I still have to do my chore.”

“Did she make you come down?” Once of the others sitting near them asked. Lance looked at her. “To see what it felt like?”

“It hurt like hell.” Without looking at Keith again, he moved so he could do what he needed to.


	23. Over Oversensitive

“How’s your back?” Lance asked as he sat on Keith’s bed. The sheets were clean now, so at least that was worth it. Keith looked up at him and sighed.

“It’s fine.” Keith didn’t look fine. Lance gave him an unimpressed look. “It hurts, but I’ve had worse. I’ll be fine in a few days.”

“Fuck…” Lance leaned forward and cupped the other boy’s cheek. His face flushed from the sensation of the warm skin against his. “I can’t believe that you’ve been surviving this shit for so long.”

Keith leaned into the touch, his eyes fluttering closed. “Neither can I most days. How are you doing?”

“It’s not as intense now… but I’m getting another dose before tonight.” Lance huffed, looking away. “I’m going to be a wreck… later.”

Keith opened his mouth to say something, his brows furrowing in anger, but Lance just moved his hand so it was over the other boy’s mouth.

“I don’t want to hear anything from you about doing things for you, not after everything you’ve done for me.” Lance pressed closer, resting his forehead against Keith’s.

Pouting, Keith pulled Lance’s hand off his face, making him whimper from the simple touch. “Stupid. I’d do anything for you.”

“And you don’t think I’d do anything for you?” Lance touched his lips to Keith’s.

With a sigh, Keith just nodded. “We’re just a couple of stubborn idiots, trying to outdo each other.”

“Nothing has really changed then.” A small smile crept onto Lance’s face. “Despite everything, that hasn’t changed.”

“And I hope it never does.”

“Baby Blue! The witch wants you in her lab!” One of the guards yelled from the door way. Lance grimaced as he pulled away from Keith.

“I’ll see you later.”

This time when the drugs thrummed through his system, the pleasure was so intense. He never had a chance to come down from the previous dose, so it just added to it. It was too much, especially when the guards pulled him up out of the chair. Their grip was so tight and it made his head swim. Somehow, it got even worse when they stripped him and then put something else on him. He was too out of it to really take in the costume they forced him into.

Haggar’s hands were on his chin and he focused on her. It was hard, but he managed to take in what she told him. “You’ll be performing as usual tonight, but we got a request from one of our high rollers to spend all night with you.”

Lance nodded, letting his eyes close.

“Good, now, tell me how you’re feeling.”

His show was much shorter than usual as he took off the lingerie that he had been forced into. Touching himself felt so good, he completely ignored his dick once he realized how quickly he’d cum on stage if he focused on it. Once he did come, something his body had been aching to do since Haggar had given him the drug, he went completely limp. A guard had to carry him off the stage. Getting fucked was going to kill him.

The man that walked into the room and immediately started kissing him looked so familiar. Lance focused on his face once the kiss stopped, it was one of the boys that had constantly beat up Keith for being gay when they were teenagers. His eyes narrowed up at him. “You fucking hypocrite bastard…”

Grinning at him, the man took Lance’s hands and placed them at the top button of his shirt. “Don’t be like that. I paid so much money to spend all night with you.”

Lance let out a whimper as the man sucked on his ear and ran his fingers over his nipples. Closing his eyes tightly and biting his lip to keep his noises to a minimum, he fumbled with the buttons of the shirt. Soft orders came from the man, asking him to do things and doing things to him that didn’t really make sense for the situation. They were acting like lovers, and Lance was too high and too oversensitive to really care what was happening or what he was doing. He just touched the man where he wanted to be touched and came over and over again.

“I’ll be back again.” The man winked at him as he finished rebuttoning his shirt and left. Lance didn’t look at him as he stared up at the ceiling, unable to move. His nerves were fried and he could only feel pleasure.

Somehow, he managed to walk back to the barracks, Keith instantly getting off his bed and following Lance to the shower. He didn’t get in the shower with Lance, who let out a muffled moan when the water touched his skin, just stood near him.

“You okay?” Keith looked over him, looking slightly nausetious.

“No.” Lance rested his head against the wall. “If I touch my ass or my dick I’m going to cum again, and it doesn’t feel good anymore.”

“You have to…”

“I know…” He turned his head so he was looking at Keith. “You remember that asshole that used to rearrange your face because you were gay?”

“Yeah, of course I do. Most of the time, you ended up intervening right before I was about to kill him.” Keith tilted his head in confusion.

“He just spent the last several hours pounding my ass.” Putting his forehead back against the tile, he grimaced and motioned towards his ass. “Could you uh… I don’t think I’ll be able to do it myself.”

“Let me know if you need me to stop.” Keith put one hand on Lance’s shoulder, a comforting gesture, and then stuck two fingers in his ass. He looked away as his face flushed from the absolutely erotic noise that escaped Lance’s mouth. “It’s been a while since he came in. H-He’s not the only person from our past that comes in. Iverson and Harris usually come in together at least once a month.”

Lance didn’t know what to say to his high school teachers frequenting a place like the Den. They had known where Keith had been the entire time then, and neither said anything because then everyone would know how disgusting they were. Iverson might’ve been an asshole, but Lance didn’t really see him as a rapist. There were rumors about Harris sleeping with a couple of students, including… “So, was it true, that you slept with Harris in high school?”

“Yeah.” Keith bit his lip as Lance moaned again when he moved his fingers. “Twice actually. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be…” Lance let out something close to a sqawk as he came again, his body shivering despite the hot water. Tears started streaming down his face, mixing with the water. Keith immediately removed his fingers, gently running a hand up and down Lance’s back. Once Lance finished sobbing and caught his breath, he looked at Keith. “You have nothing to be sorry about.”

“But… I just…” Keith looked away, his face red.

“Just nothing.” Lance shook his head. “You didn’t do anything wrong, okay?”

With a shuddering breath, Keith nodded. He didn’t really look like he really believed Lance, but Lance didn’t need him to believe him right then. “I’m so messed up.”

“To be fair, you’ve always a little messed up.” Lance turned away as he turned off the water. “But when we get out of here, we’re both going to see the best therapist money can buy.”

“Just what I want to do, tell a stranger about every little terrible detail about my life.” Keith scoffed, reaching for Lance when the other boy started to stumble.

“What was your plan then? Bottle everything up?” Lance leaned against Keith, closing his eyes tightly. The euphoria was passing, which meant pain would be coming soon. Haggar had never mentioned giving him a dose before bed.

“I don’t have a plan, because getting out of here has been little more than a fantasy.”

“We’re get-…” Lance doubled over, Keith catching him again, and grunted in pain as the feeling changed from pleasure to pain in almost an instant.

Keith gently shushed him and helped him into bed. He curled up next to him, trying to sooth him. Lance tried his best to keep himself quiet, if only so the other whores wouldn’t jump them for how loud he was being.

At least he’d be able to tell Haggar how long the pain lasted while coming down.


	24. Withdraw

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love you guys, seeing your comments always brighten my day. They're always so nice, which is super awesome considering the content you're commenting on. When I'm feeling down, I go back through and reread the nice things you say about me and cry a little.
> 
> Anyway, this chapter's on the short side, but it's also not super terrible.

Two days, that’s how long that Haggar injected the drug into him before she seemed satisfied with her results. His nerves were fried from the ups and downs she was forcing him on. Every touch was like it was through a thick layer of rubber. There was a pounding in his head that was too much to ignore, but he was trying anyway.

What really mattered to him was that Keith looked better. A few of the deeper cuts were still scabbed, but most had healed to join the other scars on his back. He had color to his face again, and for the first time since Lance had been there, there weren’t dark circles under Keith’s eyes. Keith being better also meant that he had to get back to work.

“Tonight’s my last night off.” Keith held Lance’s cheek, but Lance could barely feel the touch. He absently wondered which of the other drugs would help him feel again, or if time would heal the damage the drugs did to his system.

“Take advantage of it.” Lance smiled at him. He felt so tired, drained.

Nodding, Keith pressed their lips together. Lance could feel that at least. “How are you feeling?”

“Like my body is begging for more drugs, even its not what I was on.” Lance huffed, closing his eyes. Just barely, he felt Keith’s hand move to grip his shoulder.

“Are you going to…?”

“We’ll see how I feel in a few days.” He moved his own hand to hold his head. Not being able to feel would be a blessing after being for over sensitive the last few days.

“It’s okay. If I could, I probably would’ve started doing drugs years ago.” Keith’s voice was so soft, but anger burned inside of Lance. He hated being reminded how long Keith had suffered, and suffered.

“I just… I just…” Lance sighed and opened his eyes to search Keith’s expression. He swallowed hard and held the other boy’s face in hands. “I don’t know…”

“It’s okay, you don’t need to know. Just, don’t give up hope, okay?” Keith closed his own eyes now, a tear falling down his cheek, onto Lance’s hand.

“Says the guy who constantly talks about having given up hope.” He let out a huff of dry laughter, when Keith just smiled, Lance understood. “One of us has to have enough hope for the both of us, huh?”

“I think at this point, Baby Blue, you’re hoping enough for all of us.” When Keith opened his eyes, he made a quick sweep of the room. Lance followed his gaze; everyone looked so miserable.

“We’re going to get out of here. We’re all going to get out of here.” Lance winced when a guard yelled for everyone. “Unfortunately, right now, the only place I’m going is to ‘work’.”

With his nerves muted, the night wasn’t completely terrible. It was almost tolerable, even when one of his clients got out a whip, leaving a few bleeding welts on his back. The worst part of that was the realization that the new marks on Keith’s back weren’t from a blade like he originally guessed.

Keith fused over him when he came him, but the bleeding had stopped much earlier. Lance didn’t really see a point in keeping Keith from helping him though. The attention felt nice, even as he continually insisted that he didn’t need it.

“Hey, I don’t think I thanked you, for doing what you did for me.” Keith wasn’t looking at him. “Thank you.”

“Anytime.” Lance smiled at the back of his head.

“That isn’t what I wanted to hear.” Keith huffed, turning to kiss him before crawling into his own bed.

“I’ll stop sacrificing myself for you when you stop sacrificing yourself for me.” Lance smiled at him as he reached his hand out of Keith.

“I hate you.” Keith rolled his eyes and he very briefly intertwined their fingers together.

“Hate you too.”

The sensations were different when Lance woke up the next morning. His muscles were all sore, like he had down way too much lifting or running. He was also nauseaous, not enough to actually throw up, but enough that he definitely didn’t feel like eating. Keith kept looking at him worriedly, but he didn’t say anything.

“Are you okay? You don’t look so good?” Allura asked as he walked back into the barracks after doing his chore. It was his first time on duty to clean a client room. He felt dirtier from cleaning them than he did while getting fucked in them, especially after someone told him that they only clean them every few days.

“I’m just… going through withdraw…” Lance covered his mouth as another wave of nausea went through him. It was as close to puking he’d been since he had woken up. “I’ll be fine, hopefully.”

“You were only on that drug for three days!” Her eyebrows came together with concern. “You should take something else, it’ll help.”

“But then…” He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ve thought about it. I-I… I’m not ready to do that yet.”

She nodded, touching his shoulder. He still had a muted sense of touch, but it was better than the day before. Before either of them could say anything else, a guard was calling for him.

“Thanks.” He nodded at her as he followed the guard to Lotor’s office.

Keith was sitting in one of the chairs, glaring at Lotor. Lance sat in the chair next to him when Lotor motioned at it with an uncharacteristically friendly smile. “Tomorrow, you two will be spending all night entertaining some of highest ranking members of the gang.”

Lance’s mouth went dry. The two of them together. He could see that Keith had tensed up next to him.

“H-How…?” Lance managed to say, his voice was oddly hoarse.

“They want to start by watching, watching the two of you as if you were in private, taking it slow, _making love_.” Lotor grinned at them. “But then, of course, they want to play with you and some toys.”

He was actually going to be sick, actually he threw up in his mouth a little but swallowed it down. That didn’t make the nausea any better. Keith looked like he had just been hit in the face with a baseball bat.

“I thought you two would be excited for the chance to spend some time together.”

“You’re a monster, Lotor.” Keith’s voice didn’t have any bite, or threat. He sounded resigned to the fact.

With a laugh, Lotor leaned across his desk. “I invited Marmora, but she declined. My sister was… offended that I thought she would enjoy taking part. I wonder why…”

Keith bit his lip and closed his eyes. Lance turned to look at him, wondering who the hell Marmora was. It was probably part of the reason they were so hard on him, something he wasn’t allowed to talk about.

“Wh-Who do they want bottoming?” Lance looked away from Keith as he wrapped his arms around his torso.

“Both of you. They want to watch both of you take before they join in, but who goes first, I’ll leave that up for you two to decide.”

Neither Lance or Keith responded, only tensed up.

“This is so much less fun when you boys don’t put up much resistance.” Lotor sighed as he sat back. “Next week, a group ordered a special with the two of you. I have no idea what they’re planning to do with you, expect they want your hands bound together.”

Lance didn’t want to look at Keith, didn’t want to see how he felt about everything that was going to happen to them, between them. He knew that the other boy still felt guilty about the stage thing; he was never going to be able to forget or get over it himself.

“But they’re paying a pretty penny, so as long as you’re both still alive afterwards, they can do whatever they want with you.” He smiled and waved his hand. “You better get ready for tonight. Everyone has been anxiously waiting for Spitfire’s return.”

Once Keith and Lance were out of Lotor’s office, Lance reached for Keith. Keith shrugged him off and apologized before heading to the dressing room. Lance went into the bathroom, throwing up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, next chapter will be more flashbacks. There will be one more chapter of flashbacks in this part of the fic before the end. We're so close to the end! I have more chapters written than I have posted, so I only have to write like 10 more chapters. Craziness.


	25. Flashback #2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, ages of flashbacks in order:  
> 1) Lance and Hunk are 11; Pidge is 8; Matt is 15; Shiro is 16.  
> 2) Lance, Keith, and Hunk are 13; Pidge is 10. This [Pintrest Board](https://www.pinterest.com/kuki666/lances-wedding-board/) is relevant to this part of the chapter.  
> 3) Lance and Hunk are 15; Pidge is 12; Matt is 19; Shiro is 20.  
> 4) Lance and Hunk are 18; Pidge is 15.  
> 

Hunk was walking really close behind Lance, looking around. They were at a football game, their new genius classmate had asked them to come. Her parents forced her to come because her older brother was on the team.

“Will you calm down? I mean, look at all the hot babes.” Lance put his hands behind his head as he watched a group of high school girls walk by.

“Lance, we’re the only sixth graders here without their parents!” Hunk whined, his eyes going to the fries that someone was carrying, his mouth watering.

“We’re going to have adult supervision as soon as we find Katie, relax.”

“Can we grab some food before we go look for her.” Hunk put his hand over his stomach. “I love sports food, it’s almost as good as fair food.”

“We just had dinner.” Lance turned and raised an eyebrow at him. “How can you possibly be hungry?”

“It’s not so much that I’m hungry… it’s that that chili cheese dog looks really good.” Hunk pointed at the hotdog that someone had just walked away from the snack shake with.

“We can grab something during halftime, let’s find Katie.” Lance rolled his eyes, then stopped when a group of cheerleaders walked past them. Hunk pushed his shoulders.

“If I don’t have time to get food, you don’t have time to try to get to look at girls.” Hunk looked at him, completely unimpressed by his best friend’s actions. Lance pouted, but walked towards the stands around the football field. He peered around until he found the small girl.

“Hey, you are ridiculously hard to find, you know?” Lance said as he sat down next to her. “So tiny.”

“I’m three years younger than you.” She glared at him, and smiled at Hunk who was waving as he sat down next to the other boy.

Then her parents started talking to them, asking basic parent things, asking about siblings and their own parents, and things that they do. Katie kept rolling her eyes as her parents talked to Hunk and Lance. Lance didn’t really let Hunk get a word in, but both seemed comfortable talking to the Holts.

It wasn’t until the band started playing and the players started coming out that Lance notice how good their seats were. There weren’t a lot of people in the stands, the team had done terribly the year before. But Lance was able to enjoy the view of the cheerleaders, and that was all he really cared about. That and being able to hang out with his friends on a Friday night.

Once the game started, Lance and Hunk couldn’t tear their eyes away. Hunk didn’t really understand sports, and football wasn’t Lance’s favorite, but the energy in the stadium was egging them on. It helped that their team was winning, by a land slide. Katie just kept groaning every time they jumped up and cheered next to them.

During halftime, Mr. Holt handed Katie a wad of cash and told them to grab something to eat. He called her Pidge and Lance started cracking up.

“I swear, I might be small, but that just means that I’m at the right height to sucker punch you in the balls.” She glared at him, crossing her arms.

Lance’s eyes went wide as they walked, his one hand going down to protect his family jewels.

“So, that’s a new quarterback, he just transferred in this year right?” Hunk asked, between bites of his chili dog. He looked like he was in heaven.

“Yeah, him and Matt have been hanging out a lot. He’s a foster kid.” Katie shrugged, sipping on the very large slushie she had bought.

“Uh, he’s really good. Like really good. He makes up for the entire rest of the team.” Lance shoved a handful of fries in his face, his eyes following another group of girls.

“Whatever.” She huffed.

“So, Pidge, you don’t care about this at all? Why come?” Lance glanced at her.

“To support my brother, I’m always the first one he hugs after a game, whether they win or lose.”

“Your brother doesn’t seem like the football type, more band geek to me.”

“He’s also the captain of the debate team, so…”

“Wow, smart and athletic. If only you were either of those Lance, maybe you’d have a chance with some girls now and then.” Hunk grinned at his best friend, who just seemed like he hadn’t even heard the comment.

“Anyway, we should get back to my parents before they send out the search and rescue squad.” Pidge started walking back to the stands.

“They that over protective?”

“No, I’m just eight Lance.”

It was the team’s biggest win in three years, according to the announcer. As they walked towards the locker rooms to wait for Matt, Pidge’s parents asked Lance and Hunk if they needed a ride, but Lance kept insisting that their parents would be there soon, if they weren’t already waiting in the parking lot. They just wanted to meet Matt, since Pidge didn’t shut up about her big brother.

Matt and another boy, the quarterback, walked out with their arms around each other and laughing. Lance stopped breathing as he looked at the quarterback, Takashi Shirogane. The jaw, the dark eyes, the muscles, the little tuft of hair in his face. He was the most beautiful man, most beautiful person he had ever seen. His face felt warm.

He looked at Hunk when he felt someone tapping on his arm. Hunk gave him a confused look before motioning towards Matt and Takashi.

“Thanks for keeping my little sister out of trouble. She’s always been a handful.” Matt messed up Katie’s hair, and she just pouted, not trying to stop him.

“She certainly makes it difficult.” Hunk grinned at Matt.

“I didn’t catch your name.” Takashi’s voice was even nicer than his face, and he was looking directly at Lance.

Panicking, he went to his go to finger guns. “Name’s Lance.”

He laughed, holding his hand out to shake Lance’s. “Nice to meet you Lance.”

Lance nodded at him dumbfoundly, his hand lingering in the other’s for longer than it should’ve.

“Hey Mom, Dad, is cool if Shiro stays the night?” Matt asked, hooking an arm over the other teenager’s shoulders.

“We’re going to go look for our parents, see you Monday Pidge.” Hunk waved at them, dragging Lance off. Once they were in front of the high school, looking for Hunk’s mom’s car in the long line, Hunk looked at Lance. “You okay?”

“Uh, I just… do you think I’m gay?” Lance’s brows were furrowed.

“No?” Hunk blinked at him.

“Okay, but Shiro is like the most beautiful person in the world, right?”

“Oh.” Nodding, Hunk wrapped his arm around Lance’s shoulders. “You can like both boys and girls, you know that right?”

“Really?”

“Yeah? Dude, you’re definitely not gay. No one is more attratched to girls than you are.”

“Uh.” Lance nodded, spotting Hunk’s mom. “There she is, come on, maybe she’ll let you stay the night.”

“What about your parents?”

“They love you, they’ve never said no to you staying over.”

*-*-*-*-*-*

It was a Saturday, but Pidge was sitting on his bed, doing homework. She was typing away on her laptop while Lance was kicking ass at Mario Kart. He wasn’t actually winning, but Hunk and Keith didn’t have the heart to tell him that he was actually looking at Keith’s part of the screen.

“Come on, come join us! I’m tired of beating these losers!” Lance stretched as watched Keith’s chosen character do a victory lap.

“You only have three controllers.” Pidge didn’t look away from her laptop. “And I have to have this essay in by four.”

“The esassy for Kenney? What did you tell her to get you an extension?” Keith turned to look at her, his brows drawn together.

“That my mom was in the hospital.”

“Pidge, you lied to Kenney? She’s going to kill you.” Lance whipped his head around, staring at her in complete disbelief.

“It’s not a lie.” She shrugged.

“Because your mom’s a nurse?” Lance’s voice went up an octave. “That’s still not…”

“It’s not a lie. I never said that she was sick or anything, just that she’s-… My laptop is about to die, you mind if I use your computer Lance?”

“Sure, sure, you know the password.” Lance waved his hand dismissively as he turned back to the TV to pick the next track. Keith and Hunk said something about Pidge and her tendency about lying to teachers. It was amazing how much they either didn’t notice or let her get away with it just because she was at the top in every class.

“What did you guys write this essay on, by the way?” Pidge asked, as she fiddled with a thumbdrive, trying to put it in her computer before it ran out of battery power.

“Narwhals, those badass sea unicorns.” Lance grinned, looking at Hunk. “A plus, here I come!”

“Cake decorating…” Hunk said it quietly, but the others just nodded. “What are you writing yours on Pidge?”

“Quantum particle generators.” Lance and Hunk both blinked at her, then both looked at Keith.

Keith was looking down at his controller, which he was gripping so tight his knuckles were white. Lance touched his shoulder gently, and he tensed up as his head whipped up to look at Lance. He immediately removed his hand.

“You okay?”

“I didn’t write the essay, and now I’m failing.” Keith huffed out, looking away from Lance again.

“Failing? But dude, you got a higher grade than Pidge on the last test!” Hunk eyes were wide in shock.

“I haven’t been able to do homework for a while.” Keith closed his eyes. “Brad was looking at porn on the Smiths’ computer and forgot to clear the history, so we all lost computer privileges until they think they can trust us again.”

“Why the hell didn’t you say something? You can come over here anytime and work on homework, you know that!” Lance was leaning close to him, his hands firmly on Keith’s shoulders.

“Mine or Pidge’s place too.” Hunk nodded at him when Keith looked up at them.

“When I’m done typing up my essay, you should get on Lance’s computer and work on yours. It’s not that late, even if you get late points, it should keep you from failing, right?” Pidge finally got the thumbdrive into the USB port.

“Thanks.” Keith smiled at all of them, glancing back at the TV. “How much more do you have to do?”

“Just the section on uses.” Pidge clicked a few buttons and shut her laptop.

“Kenney is going to love your essay on sword making.” Lance picked his remote back up, selecting Rainbow Road, making Hunk sob a few times.

“Shut up Lance.” Keith’s face was slightly red as he leaned towards the TV.

Pidge was now sitting in front of Lance’s ancient desk top, tapping on the desk, waiting for it to load while the boys finished up their race, the last in that round. That was when Hunk told Lance that he had been looking at the wrong character the whole time. Lance jumped up and pointed down at Keith, demanding a rematch. Keith leaned back and just gave him a cocky grin.

“Lance, you have a wedding board on Pintrest?” Pidge asked, her tone curious as she leaned closer to the screen.

“Oh yeah, he’s been working on that for ages.” Hunk said, smiling at his friend softly.

“There’s a lot of different stuff here…”

“Yeah, he always adds new stuff based on current cru-…” Hunk was cut off my Lance putting his hands over his mouth, glaring at him.

“Huh. Most of it is red and blue. You _hate_ red.” Pidge wrinkled her nose as Lance was jumping across the room towards her. “It looks like you’re planning a Fourth of July party…”

Lance took the mouse from her, quickly exiting out of the internet, glaring at her. She was grinning up at him.

“Just finish your damn essay so Keith can write his.” Lance huffed as he walked away from the computer. “And stay out of my files!”

“Now she’s almost guaranteed to look through your stuff bud.” Hunk grimaced at him. Lance sighed as he sat back down on the ground. He glanced at Keith, who looked flustered, which only made his own face redder.

“Maybe some other time, Keith really needs to get his essay done, so I’ll be quick.”

It didn’t take long for Pidge to finish up her essay, moving after sighing and stretching dramatically as if it was difficult for her. “All yours Keith.”

Keith got off the floor and handed Pidge his controller. They had changed games after Keith beat Lance at Mario Kart, even after Lance started looking at the correct screen. Pidge sat down happily, laughing manically as she took control of Keith’s person. It was a strategy game, so Keith had not been doing so hot, but that was all about to change.

“Lance!” The oldest of Lance’s younger sisters yelled as she opened the door. “Lance, mama says that dinner is almost ready, so you and your friends should come down!”

Lance gave her a thumbs up, bringing up the game menu to pause it. Pidge and Hunk both groaned. He stretched as he stood up, looking over at Keith. “Save it and come on, I’m starving.”

Once they were eating, Lance’s parents asked polite but intrusive questions to the teenagers. The three guests gave polite, but vague answers.

“Oh, Keith, Mrs. Smith called earlier.” Lance’s mom said, and Keith tensed up. Lance frowned at him. “She wanted to know when you were going to be home, so I went ahead and told her that you were spending the night here.”

Keith nodded, his gaze still on the plate in front of him. He had barely touched it, while Hunk was on seconds. “Thank you, Mrs. McClain.”

“Your welcome sweetheart.” She smiled at him, motioning towards his plate. “Now, eat up.”

Hunk and Pidge had left and Keith had sent his essay to their teacher, with an explanation to its lateness, and it was just Keith and Lance. Keith had grabbed a shower and was sitting on Lance’s bed with dripping hair and Lance’s pajamas.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” Lance said, spinning in his desk chair before stopping himself to look at Keith seriously. The other boy’s brows came together as he frowned, but he nodded. “The Smiths, everyone always says how great they are, but you always seem to get really… _weird_ when someone brings them up or…”

“They’re… they’re just really traditional, strict about their religious beliefs.” Keith shook his head, looking down at his hands in his lap. “But they’re the best foster family I’ve had, even if they’re a little crazy sometimes.”

“So, that’s why Shiro and Matt are always insisting that they’re just friends?” Got up and moved to sit next to Keith.

“Yeah, even now that Shiro is so close to aging out, he’s afraid that if they figure it out, they’ll keep him from getting custody of me.” Keith held his head, letting out a dry laugh. “They’d tell my caseworker that he’d _corrupt_ me or something, because he’s bi. As if.”

Lance tilted his head to the side, and hummed. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever told you, but I’m bi.”

Keith doubled over laughing, and Lance’s face flushed as he watched the other boy. “You’re not exactly subtle you know?”

“Shut up.” Lance pushed his shoulder lightly, smiling at him. Keith smiled back at him before looking towards the computer.

“Show me that wedding board.”

“No, no way.” Lance crossed his arm.

“What? I’m not going to judge you for it, I’m just curious.” Keith tucked a piece of his hair behind his ear. Lance huffed and went back to the computer.

As Keith was hovering behind Lance, watching him scroll through the board, quicker in some sections that others, he sighed. “Can I tell you something? I’ve only told Shiro and…”

“Shoot bud.”

“I’m gay.” Keith said it so quietly that Lance almost didn’t hear him, even with him standing so close.

Lance turned and smiled at him. “Cool. Thanks, for trusting me…”

Nodding, Keith’s face slightly red, he looked back at the screen, pointing at one of the pictures. “I really like that dress, but I don’t think you could pay Pidge to put it on.”

Chuckling, Lance agreed, clicking on it to delete it from the board.

*-*-*-*-*-*

Lance checked his phone again. The movie had already started, barely, but it had started. He took a deep breath and sent another text, adding it to the other three he already didn’t have a reply to. He rested his head back against the wall, wondering if Keith was standing him up because he didn’t actually want to come, or if he had just gotten cold feet.

After another half hour, Keith was over an hour late now, he called him. Keith had answered earlier, when Lance nervously asked him if he needed a ride. He’d been told that Keith didn’t need a ride, that he was excited to see him. There was no answer, and Lance ended the call as Keith’s voice told him to leave a message in an annoyed tone.

Ten more minutes and Lance called him again, leaving a message this time.

“Hey, you okay? If you got nervous, or if you didn’t want to at all… I just wish you had told me… okay, bye.”

Another ten minutes and four more texts, he left another message. “Okay, fine. Fuck you too.”

Twenty minutes and he left another message. “No, seriously, are you okay? At least text me that you’re okay, or that you’re sorry, or something. You did sound excited, nervous, but excited earlier, so I… I hope that this isn’t you standing me up.”

“Hey, Keith stood me up, what are you doing?” He pushed away from wall as he waited for Hunk to give him an answer.

“Pidge and I just sat down at the diner, why don’t you come join us? I’ll buy you dinner.” Hunk said, then he could hear Pidge’s voice in the background. “And she’ll buy you ice cream.”

Once Lance sat down at the booth next to Pidge, he rested his head against the table. “I’m pathetic, right?”

“I tried calling him twice, and Hunk tried three times, no answer.” Pidge rubbed his back gently.

The two tried to comfort him through their meal, but he just nodded, moving the food around his plate. He glanced at his phone every once in a while, his eyes lighting up when it buzzed on the table.

A text from his mom double checking what time he wanted picked up. His heart sank again. He’d hyped his mom up so much about the date and she was going to be even more heartbroken, she always seemed to really like Keith.

As they walked out of the restaurant he sent a few more texts to Keith, increasing in their desperation. Hunk offered to go over to his place, but Lance just shook his head.

“I sort of just want to be alone with my self-pity for a while, thanks for the food though guys.” Lance closed his eyes tightly to keep himself from crying in front of the dinner. “Let me know if you hear from him.”

They both nodded, insisting they wait with him until his mom came to pick him up.

Once he in the car with his mom, he started crying without restraint. She pulled him close, shushing him and telling him comforting words in Spanish. It made him feel a little better, but he looked out the window and cried the whole way home.

It was almost midnight when Lance stopped crying and was getting ready for bed. He glanced at his phone as he toweled off his hair. Once last voicemail. “You’re a fucking asshole.”

Two hours later he woke up to his phone buzzing loudly. Groaning, he looked at the screen told him that “Takashi Shirogane” was calling him.

“Is he with you?” Shiro said before Lance could even croak out a tired greeting.

“No, he never showed up for our date. I called him four times, and texted him like a million…” Lance sat up, feeling his throat close up, suddenly very awake.

“I’ve called him a bunch of times too. He called me to tell me he was leaving to meet you and… shit…” A few beeps told Lance that Shiro had ended.

Lance pulled the phone away, his heart pounding in his chest as he stared at it. He pulled up the list of texts he had sent Keith. Now he was the asshole, assuming that Keith had stood him up and not… Bolting out of bed and into the bathroom down the hall, he barely made it as he threw up into the toilet.

The light switched on and his mother knelt next to him, gently running her fingers through his hair. When he finished, he was crying again. “Mama, mama, he didn’t stand me up… he… he…”

She pulled him close, promising him that Shiro would find him, that Keith was fine, going to be fine.

Once he stopped crying and rinsed out his mouth, he went back to his room. There was no way he was going to be able to sleep. He grabbed his phone and dialed Keith’s number again. Of course, there wasn’t an answer. “You better be okay.”

It was early the next morning when Lance heard someone knock on the front door. His mother had poked her head in to ask if he wanted breakfast, but he wasn’t hungry. He hoped it was Keith, but it wasn’t.

Pidge and Hunk walked into his room, sharing a look before Pidge cleared her throat. “So, Matt told me that… that they found his phone.”

Lance tensed, his throat closing up.

“It was just on the road, halfway between his and Shiro’s place and town.” Pidge took a few breaths before continuing. “There was blood at the scene, not enough for anyone to be seriously hurt but…”

“He put up a fight.” His voice didn’t sound like his. He wanted to throw up again.

“Lance…” Pidge put a hand on his shoulder, but he just shrugged her off.

“Don’t. This is my fault.” Lance sat up, not looking at either of his friends.

“No, it’s not…” Hunk gave him something close to a reassuring smile.

“The hell it isn’t! If I had just insisted that we picked him up, or if I had picked an earlier time!” Lance was shaking and tears were streaming down his eyes again. “Keith’s gone and it’s all my fault.”

Pidge’s arms were around him, and he wanted to shake her off, but he was too tired. Then Hunk was hugging him too. Both of them kept telling him that he wasn’t to blame, that it wasn’t in anyway his fault. It didn’t stop Lance from feeling guilty.

Later when Pidge and Hunk left, only because Lance’s mom had reminded them it was a school night, Lance sat on his bed staring at his phone. His mom had told him that he didn’t have to go to school the next day, but what else was he supposed to do.

It had been over twenty-four hours since anyone had last heard from him.

The next morning, he snuck out of the house while his mother was taking care of his youngest sister. He walked to the police station, the officer at the front desk waved at him dismissively to just go back. Keith and Pidge had dragged him there enough times since Shiro and Matt had become cops that he regocnized him.

Shiro was yelling, his voice shaking. “…where is he? Why don’t we have _any_ leads yet!? He’s… he can’t just be…”

“Shirogane, you’re too close to this. Everyone in this office is doing everything…” The mustachioed head of the squad said calmly.

“Then why they hell haven’t we found him yet?” There were tears streaming down his face, and he just smacked the hand that Matt put on his shoulder to calm him down. “He’s my brother, and I promised that I’d protect him!”

“We’re doing everything we can!” The captain was still talking calmly, his eyes moving to Matt. “Holt, please take Shirogane home. The only thing the two of you are doing is being a distraction.”

Matt took Shiro’s shoulder more successfully this time, talking to him quietly. Shiro nodded, wiping his eyes and turning towards the enterance, where Lance had been standing completely frozen since he walked in.

“Shiro, I’m sorry… I-I…” Lance’s voice broke and he was on the verge of crying again. Shiro walked over to him and wrapped his arms around him. “I’m so sorry, this is my…”

“No! Lance, this isn’t anyone’s fault.” Shiro sobbed, squeezing him tighter when Lance hugged him back. “We’re going to find him okay? He’s going to be okay.”

Matt’s touch made them break apart. “Come on, let’s get out of here, to let these people do their jobs to find Keith.”

*-*-*-*-*-*

“I can’t believe we’re graduating.” Hunk asked, sitting on the playground behind the youth center. Pidge was sitting next to him, kicking her feet over the edge. “We’re going to be going to college next…”

“I’m going to college, and I’m not even old enough to drive.” Pidge pouted. “I can’t believe that we’re not going to be at the same college, I’m going to miss you guys!”

“Sorry that we all couldn’t go to MIT, Pidge.” Lance’s voice had an edge to it. He was laying in the slide, staring up at the sky.

“Dude, you okay?” Hunk asked, glancing at Pidge who looked a little soured by Lance’s response.

“Fine, just… I don’t want… I don’t want things to change.” He sighed, covering his face with his arms. “We’re going to keep in touch right?”

“Of course, so much that you’re going to get sick of us.” Pidge’s smile returned.

“Impossible, not after spending middle school and high school together.”

“Yeah, going from seeing each other almost every day to being miles apart is going to be a shock.” Hunk huffed. “But, it’s just a part of growing up.”

“Maybe I’m just not ready to grow up.” Lance sighed and sat up, his eyes going to the window of the rec center. “I’m not ready to… move on.”

“Oh.” Pidge and Hunk both said as they got down and moved to stand on either side of Lance. Lance looked at both of them and then down at his shoes.

“So, this is about Keith.” Pidge huffed, pressing her hip against the side of the slide. He didn’t say anything.

Hunk put his hand on Lance’s shoulder. “You’re not the only one that misses him, you know?”

Lance groaned as he put his hands behind his head. “I know, it’s just… thinking about going onto a different part of our life… he should be here with us. He should be walking across that stage with us. Shiro should be in the stands taking pictures and crying because of how proud he is of him…”

“Matt should be interrupting my valedictorian speak with a noise maker.” Pidge sounded so sad, as even sadder than Lance felt.

“It’s not fair. It’s not fair that we get to keep… keep living our normal lives and they’re… they’re…” Lance bit his lip. “Fucking… we don’t even know where they are… or if they’re even…”

“Don’t. Don’t even think it. They’re…” Pidge’s tone was harsh, but her voice cracked as she ran adjusted her – Matt’s glasses on her face.

The three of them stay like that for a while, in silence. Lance and Pidge were both holding back tears. Hunk was the one that broke the silence.

“I know that they wouldn’t us to hold off our lives just because of what happened to them. We can’t… we can’t let missing them keep us from moving on.”

“Yeah.” Pidge wiped her eyes and moved away from the slide. Lance stood up and turned to them with a frown.

“I’m not going to…”

“I didn’t say to forget them Lance.” Hunk sighed, smiling at Lance. “But, if you live your life…”

“I know, I know…” Lance pushed away the hand that his best friend had extended towards him.

The back door of the center opened and one of the other volunteers yelled at them. “We’re about to have our meeting, if you guys are done having your cry fest.”

“Coming Nyma.” Hunk called back.

“Lance, I have no idea what you ever saw in her.” Pidge elbowed him in the stomach as she walked past him.

Lance grinned as he turned to follow her. “She’s hot, and she made out with at a few parties, you know?”

“And she had a boyfriend the entire time.” Hunk pointed at him. “I told you, she was trouble.”

“Yeah, yeah…”

After they finished cleaning up the center, they walked home together. They were all heading to the Holts’, it was pizza night.

“So, what are you guys doing over break, before we take the plunge into college life?” Pidge asked as she scrolled through what looked like a scientific article on her phone.

“We’re going to Hawaii to visit the extended family. It’s going to be a crazy time, I haven’t been since middle school.” Hunk grinned, glancing up at the sky. “I hope I can remember all my cousins’ names.”

“Good luck.” Pidge snorted. “My parents have pretty much every day of my vacation planned out to spend as much time with me as possible. I’m going to be sick of them by the time I move into my dorm.”

“Oh? What exactly do they have planned?”

“Game nights, bowling, ice skating. A trip to fucking Disney.” Pidge threw one of her hands up. “They have my whole summer booked, I’m not going to have a minute to breathe.”

Lance and Hunk both just chuckled.

“So, what about you Lance?”

“I-I…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I joined this online group for… for cold cases and looking for missing persons…”

“What?” Pidge and Hunk both stopped, staring at him.

“Yeah, it’s… it’s kind of stupid, but they… they’ve found like four people already. And even if they can’t… having other people to talk to is…” Lance sighed, not looking at them as he shuffled his feet. “It’s…”

“No, Lance, that’s good.” Pidge gave him a half smile. “I hope that it helps, actually… send me the link to the group.”

“There are in person meet ups in the city too. I haven’t been to one yet, but I was going to go over the summer.” Lance looked up at her, swallowing hard.

“I won’t have time to go to those, but I definitely want to join.” She patted his arm.

“Me too, definitely send me that link.” Hunk nodded as he smiled.

Lance nodded, smiling brightly. “Thanks guys, really.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Funfact: Lance's three little sisters have names, and I'm going tell you them and their respective ages at the time of the first chapter of his fic. The oldest, Sarah, is 16; she already has college recruiters looking at her for her field hockey skills, most want to give her a full ride. The middle sister, Melanie, is 11; she wants to be a vet and loves Call of Duty - she likes yelling "take that white boy" after killing people. The youngest, Allison, is 7; she loves to draw and Lance always tells her that her drawings are the best, even when their parents and other siblings ignore her; one of her earliest drawings that looked like something was of Lance and Keith - Lance took that drawing to college.
> 
> Bonus Funfact: I'm not crying, you're crying.


	26. Almost like Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Lance's Birthday! I feel like I should post a fic about him being happy for his birthday, and not this, but... Happy Birthday to my favorite Blue boy!

Lance and Keith had been moved out of the Lion’s Den, and now they were in a small room being watched while they changed into lingerie. Keith got his on quickly, but Lance was having trouble with his. Sighing, Keith walked over to Lance once he was finished, fastening the garters to the stockings.

“Why didn’t they blind fold you, or even tie your hands when we left?” Lance asked while Keith fiddled with the straps of the see through top he was wearing. Keith’s paused his movements.

“I already know where the Lion’s Den is, from when I’ve escaped before.” He sighed as he finished with that and bent down to put Lance in the heels. “After what they did the second time, they know I won’t try it again.”

“What did they do?”

“I’ll tell you later.” Keith came back up to look Lance in the face. “Right now, I just… we need to decide who is going to go first.”

“I-I…” Lance closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I won’t last the second time if you top first, but will you…”

“I’ll be okay.” Their foreheads were touching. “Just focus on me, because I’m going to be focused on you.”

Lance nodded, opening his eyes to look in Keith’s. This was so wrong.

The person who had been watching them called for them as she opened a door, but not the one they had come in. They both swallowed hard as they went into the other room.

It was circular, a light illuminating the bed in the center. Along the wall, eight people were seated, their faces obscured in darkness. Lance looked at Keith when he felt a squeeze on his hand.

“You may begin whenever you’re ready.” A male voice said. Because of the room shape, Lance wasn’t really sure where it had come from.

Keith pulled him to the bed, kissing him once he was backed up against it. Lance brought a hand up, entwining his fingers in Keith’s hair as he kissed him back. It was the deepest kiss they’d shared since their time on the stage.

When the kiss broke, Lance brought his hand up to Keith’s face. They stared at each other for a moment before Keith nodded and pulled two of Lance’s fingers into his mouth, sucking on them hard, slathering them in his saliva. Lance watched him, slightly slack jawed. Keith was keeping eye contact with him until he released the fingers from his mouth.

The whimper Keith let out when Lance pushed the first finger in made Lance feel sick. There was no pleasure in that sound, just pain. He had to be quick to put the second in before the salvia on it dried. As he was worked open, Keith held onto Lance tightly, hiding his face in the crook of the taller boy’s neck.

“It’s okay, I’m ready.” Keith whispered into his ear, completely out of breath. Lance kissed the side of his head and pulled his fingers out. “I want to ride you.”

Nodding, Lance moved so he was laying in the center of the bed. Keith crawled up him, kissing up his leg before pulling off the lace panties that were barely containing Lance’s erection. He gave Lance a few licks and bobbed his head on his dick, just enough to make it a little slick. Lance wasn’t going to last long at all.

He held Keith’s hips while he sunk down on his cock. Keith’s eyes closed as he moaned, his body shaking slightly. Lance’s breath caught in his throat as he watched the boy. He felt so good.

Once Keith was completely seated, he didn’t move for what seemed like forever. Lance let his hands roam Keith’s torso, his eyes focused on his face. Both of them moaned loudly when Keith did finally start to move. It was so much, Lance wasn’t going to last like this either.

Keith leaned down so they could kiss, not changing his pace as he did. Lance wrapped his arms around him. The kiss was so sloppy.

“It doesn’t hurt, does it?” Lance huffed as they looked into each other’s eyes. He was searching for conformation that Keith felt what he felt. His chest was so full of adoration for the other boy, but he still felt sick thinking about what would happen to them after he got his turn at bottoming.

“A little.” Keith closed his eyes tightly, dropping his head to Lance’s shoulder as he let out a small moan. “But it also feels so good, you feel so good.”

“You feel really good too.” Lance huffed, running his hands down Keith’s body.

Once Lance was close, Keith sat back up, changing his pace. So much quicker, and deeper. Lance couldn’t help but buck his hips up into Keith in times with the thrusts down; he’d been keeping himself under control up until that point.

His eyes rolled back in his head as he slammed up into Keith and came in him. Keith kept moving his hips, small and shallow, to work him through the orgasm. Lance swallowed hard as he settled back down. It was definitely the best orgasm he’d ever had.

Keith moved off his dick as a murmur spread across the room. He looked down at Lance, cupping his cheek gently. Lance pulled him down for a short kiss, trying to ignore the voices around them.

As they kissed lazily, Keith moved so he was laying between Lance’s legs instead of straddling him. Lance pushed him away and nodded at him, telling him silently that he was ready for his turn. Keith nodded back, reaching behind himself.

“You kinky motherfucker.” Lance groaned when Keith pressed into his ass with fingers slicked on his own cum. Keith chuckled dryly as he pressed his lips back to Lance’s as he opened him up, slowly and carefully.

This time when Keith pushed in, it was slow and it wasn’t as painful. There was pain for sure, and Lance could tell that Keith saw that on his face. He reached for him with a smile. “I’m okay. It’s okay.”

Swallowing hard, Keith nodded and continued, even if the expression on his face didn’t change.

While Keith rocked into him, Lance felt the pleasure, and the pain. He wished he could enjoy being with the other boy like this, that it could feel even better without that pain from the other abuses they had suffered.

“I’m close.” Keith huffed, his eyes closed tightly and a tear falling onto Lance’s face. Once Keith came, it wouldn’t just be the two of them anymore. Lance wiped away other tear before it fell on him, holding back his own tears.

“Me too.”

He came before Keith did, by only a few moments. Keith’s last few thrusts were hard, fast, and painful. Lance hugged him tightly when he collapsed on him.

They didn’t have time to recover or for Keith to even pull out before Keith let out a muffled scream into Lance’s chest when someone pushed inside of him. Lance winced, the force pushed Keith even deeper in him. Both of them came like that, crying as they orgasmed.

When the man that had pushed inside Keith finished, they were pulled apart. They reached out for each other, screaming as the hands on them were rough.

While their asses and mouths were used, the men taking their turns, they kept trying to reach for each other, but they were just too far apart to touch each other’s hands.

Then came the toys. Lance was stung up first, and a paddle came out. Keith was held tight, forced to watch Lance’s face contort in pain as they paddled every inch of him. The sick words and laughs from the men only seemed to make Keith fight harder, but Lance had lost his fight once all for heels from the shoes that the boys had lost not long after they finished with each other were shoved inside of him.

Lance was still hanging, sore from the paddle they had used on every inch of him. Keith was on the floor, being beating by the men’s hands, fists, and something that looked like a baseball bat. His fight was back as he yelled for them to stop hurting Keith.

Each man took one last turn inside of each of them once they had grown bored with beating Keith. Once the men were gone, Keith got off the floor and walked over to Lance. His entire body was shaking. He was already bruising, almost completely purple from the bruises. Nothing was said as he let Lance down from the hook and helped him over to the bed.

Keith didn’t look at him as he pulled a bobby pin out of his hair and put it in the lock of the hand cuffs. Once Lance’s hands were free, he rubbed at the welts from struggling against them so hard. Lance didn’t look at Keith either. He never knew that Keith could pick a lock, but it didn't surprise him in the slightest.

They sat in silence for what seemed like forever, bruised and covered in bodily fluids. The lingerie they had been wearing was laying around the room, completely shredded.

Neither acknowledged the door opening or the clothes they had been wearing earlier being thrown at them. “Get dressed, and let’s get you two home.” Lotor’s voice, he sounded so amused. He giggled when they didn’t respond and quickly put on the clothes. They tried to walk past him, but he grabbed both of their throats.

“We still need to get you ready for the journey, Baby Blue.” Lotor licked the side of Lance’s face before turning to Keith. “And Spitfire? Nothing to say to me? Did I finally find your breaking point?”

Keith’s eyes narrowed at Lotor before he punched him in the stomach, hard enough that he released them both and took a step back. Lotor glared at him, wrapping an arm around his stomach. “Does that answer your question, Lotor?”

“Always with the surprises, eh, Spitfire?” A grin spread on Lotor’s face as two more men walked into the room, holding onto Lance tightly to bind his hands and blindfold him. Keith swallowed hard as he kept his gaze locked with Lotor’s.


	27. It's in the Eyes

Lance tensed as he heard Keith’s voice behind him. He sounded so mad. Then the sound of bone on bone, knuckles to jaw, but he didn’t turn to see who had hit who. It was the seventh guard that Keith had gotten in a fight with since they had been together. They hadn’t spoken to each other, they had barely looked at each other.

His throat closed up when he heard Keith let out a shaky groan, the same groan he always made when someone pushed into him hard. Then the sounds of struggle stopped. He stood up and walked out of the kitchen, where he’d been working on his chore, without looking at where Keith was getting fucked.

“Are you okay?” Allura asked, she sat next to him giving him a worried look.

He scoffed, looking over at Keith’s empty bed. “Is that a trick question?”

“Are you and Spitfire okay?”

Swallowing hard, he closed his eyes. He didn’t know the answer to the question, so he lied. “We’re fine.”

“Are you sure? You haven’t talked to each other since you came back. You haven’t even been reaching out to each other before you go to sleep.” She reached out to him, but he slapped her hand away.

“You don’t know what it’s like… being forced to do those things to someone you care about… to watch…” Lance closed his eyes tightly, trying to keep himself from crying. “I-I…”

“Blue, it’s been four days.”

“I know how long it’s been.” He was hyper aware how long it had been.

They had tried so hard to go back to their routine that first day they had gotten back, but Lance had panicked when they pressed together in the shower after their nightly work. Keith had been avoiding him since, and he’d been avoiding him back. Lance wanted to go back to comforting each other, he felt like he couldn’t breathe, like he was going through withdraw from Keith.

“He’s been…”

“I know, I know that he’s been getting in a lot of trouble.” The first fight Keith had gotten in with the guards about him, they beat the shit out of him. It was so bad that Lotor had to let Keith off that night and he punished the guards severely himself.

“You two need each other, even if…”

“I know I need him.” Lance finally looked at her. He’d been so pliable since they came back, since he didn’t have someone there to lean on if his smart mouth got him in trouble. There was no doubt that Keith would take any punishment for him, but at the moment, he wouldn’t hold Lance when they made him take it. “It’s kind of pitiful how much I need him.”

“You should talk to him. I’m worried about you, about both of you.” She reached out for him again, and he let her put her hand on his knee. “We’re all worried you’re starting to give up hope.”

“No, not my hope, but I’m losing my will.” He put his hand on hers.

“That’s what they want.”

They sat in silence for a while, only looking up when Keith came back in. Lance swallowed hard, watching him. When he was passing by, he spoke up. “Spitfire, are you okay?”

Keith stopped, looking over at Lance. He looked so broken, his shoulders shaking slightly. The obvious answer was ‘no’.

“Do… Do you wa-… need some help?”

“I-I’ll… I’ll be okay.” Keith tore his gaze away from Lance, starting to walk towards the bathroom. “Thank you though.”

When he glanced at Allura, she was smiling at him. “It’s a good start.”

He rolled his eyes and moved so he was laying on his bed. She got up and went over to someone else, mentioning drugs. Drugs would be a good second choice to Keith, but he hoped that they’d be able to get over what they went through together before he had to resort to that.

That night, Lance reached out for Keith, his eyes closed as if not being able to see the lack of hand reaching back would make it better. Surprisingly, he found that there was a hand stretched out, waiting for him. He opened his eyes and met Keith’s. The other boy was smiling at him, and retracting his hand now that they had touched.

The next two days, they didn’t say anything to each other than asking if the other was okay. They laid back to back while they during their short downtime. Neither dared to look at the each other while they were naked, in the changing room or the shower.

Then it was Lance’s rest day. Keith sat down on Lance’s bed after he finished with his chore, staring at Lance. Lance stared back, his face flushed. Neither seemed to know what to say.

“I guess this means any chance of ever us having a normal sex life are gone.” Keith said, his lips turned up into a tentative smile. Lance couldn’t help but smile as he huffed out a laugh.

“Yeah, though, there were slim chances to begin with.” Lance sighed as his smile fell. “It… it was almost how I wanted it to be, minus the people watching us and…”

Nodding, Keith moved so their knees were touching. “This place… it ruins everything.”

“I won’t let it ruin _us_.” Lance leaned forward, looking at Keith seriously. “I care about you too much to let anything fuck _this_ up.”

“You really think we’d have any shot at having a relationship if we get out of here?” Keith looked away, something cold in his eyes that Lance couldn’t and didn’t want to read.

“ _When_ we get out of here, we’re going to need each other.” Lance reached out and very gently tilted Keith’s chin so they were eye to eye. “It’s going to be hard, but if we don’t let what they do to us control our lives, it’s going to be worth it.”

Keith took a shuddering breath. “And you think you’ll be able to just ignore everything I’ve done to you, that you went through because of me?”

“No.” Lance moved his hand to Keith’s shoulder when the other boy winced at the word. “Not right away at least, but, you’re also the reason I haven’t given up yet. I can’t imagine getting over everything that they’ve put us through without you.”

Keith didn’t say anything, a pained look in his eyes.

“Someday, you’ll be able to forgive yourself for what you did…” Lance smiled at him softly. “You’ll be able to move past these years in hell.”

“What if I can’t?”

“Okay.” Lance moved in to press his forehead against Keith’s. “But that doesn’t mean you should give up without trying.”

Keith closed his eyes tightly.

“Do you not want to try, try to be together when this is all over?”

“Every fantasy of a life outside of this place… it’s been with you.” A tear rolled down Keith’s cheek. “I want it so bad, but after everything I don’t think I can have it.”

“I say you can, because it’s what I want too.” Lance wiped away the tear. “It will never be a normal relationship, but we were never the kind of people that would want ‘normal’.”

Keith let out a few nervous laughs. “No, we really weren't.”

“So, when we get out of here, you still owe me that date.”

“Nothing would make me happier.” Keith’s tears came faster and he let out a sob. “But…”

A guard came in and yelled for curtain call. Keith pulled away from Lance without another word.

It was still a few days before Lance didn’t immediately look away anytime that he noticed Keith was undressed or in the middle of giving a service. He stripped and stepped in the shower after Keith came back from being taken out of the Den. Silently, he sat on the floor in front of Keith, reaching towards him. Keith didn’t say anything as he moved so he could press against him, burying his face in the crook of Lance’s neck.

“Spitfire.” He only said it to get the other boy’s attention, a few days later. Keith looked up at him, his expression curious. “Promise that we won’t go back to not talking, or looking, or touching… that we won’t stop relying on each other, no matter what they do.”

Keith smiled, nodding. “ _Nothing_ is going to change this again, I promise, Baby Blue.”

Lance pulled him close, pressing their lips together. It was the first kiss they had shared in almost two weeks. It was the best yet, despite the fact they both started crying. They only pulled apart when a guard smacked Lance across his back with a nightstick.

“Break it up, save that kind of thing for paying customers.” The guard grabbed Lance by the hair, pushing his shorts down with the nightstick. “And gang members.”

Keith growled, taking a few steps towards Lance and the guard, but two more guards grabbed him. He was fighting against them, swearing and demanding that they stop it.

A whimper left Lance’s mouth when he felt the end of the night stick pushed at his hole. Then he let out a pained gasp when it pushed in. Tears came to his eyes as he looked up at Keith, who was watching with tears in his own eyes, still snarling angrily.

Lance didn’t fight as the guard thrusted the weapon inside him a few times before pulling it out and replacing it with his own dick. His fight kicked back in once he watched the guards restraining Keith manhandle so one of them was buried in his ass and the other in his mouth.

Keith managed to look at Lance, telling him to just let it happen. Lance nodded slightly, groaning as the guard slammed into him particularly hard.

They walked towards each other, holding each other tightly, once the guards had finished. They hadn’t finished in them, it was too close to curtain call. Once they caught their breaths, they went to the dressing room.

“Spitfire, Baby Blue.” Haggar called once they were both dressed. They looked at her, swallowing hard. She grinned at them. “You’ll be blowing each other on stage.”

They looked at each then nodded at her.

“You both look too pleased about that.”

“Trust me, nothing about having to do anything together in public makes us happy.” Keith glared at her.

“Yet you seem to be willing to give the other whores a show.” She said after slapping him hard enough that he had blood drippling down his chin.

“Doesn’t matter whether we like it, as long it sells, right?” Lance raised his eyebrows at her.

“That is very true. Money makes the world go round.” She ran a nail down Lance’s cheek before turning to walk towards Allura.

Lance took Keith’s chin in his hand to inspect the damage, but Keith tried brushing him off. They both tensed when Haggar spoke again, obviously talking to them.

“Oh, by the way, Prince Lotor is finally healed enough for sex, and he wants the both of you. You’ll be spending all night with him tomorrow night.” She let out a shrill laugh that left Lance feeling uneasy. “Better get onto the stage, you’re up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Announcement! So before we see Keith's side of this story, we're going to find out what Pidge, and maybe even Lance's fam has been doing this whole time. It'll be a short installment, 5 to 10 chapters.


	28. The Peircing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of stuff happens, and it's all terrible, extra terrible.

“You’ve been staring at me like that for a while.” Lance frowned at Keith as he sat on his bed. Keith rubbed the back of his neck as he turned away. “What is it?”

“Just… you’ve gotten better… at giving head… since…” Keith’s face was bright red and his eyes pained.

Despite himself, Lance smiled. “I’ve had a lot of practice since then.”

Keith scooted a little closer to him, taking his hand, squeezing tight. “You… you ready for tomorrow?”

Leaning against him, Lance closed his eyes. “I don’t know if having you there will make it better, or worse.”

“But it’s still not going to change anything, right?” Keith’s voice was shaky and Lance pressed in closer. “We’ll still be able to… able to do this when it’s over right?”

“Whatever he does to us, makes us do to each other, this isn’t going to change.” Lance opened his eyes and leaned in to press a kiss to the corner of Keith’s mouth.

Keith brought his hand up and gently holding the back of Lance’s head as he nodded with something close to a smile on his face.

“Hey, lovebirds, the guards are coming this way.” One of the others said. “After what happened earlier, you might want to break it up.”

As Keith moved over to his own bed, Lance turned to smile at the guy who gave them the warning and thanked him.

Their chores kept them apart most of the day, only seeing each other right before curtain call. There was nothing to say to each other while they waited for someone to call them to Lotor’s office. Everyone was working over the guards for drugs. Lance wanted to join them, but Keith pressed their foreheads together and he focused back on the other boy.

“Spitfire, Baby Blue. The Prince has decided that he wants the two of you to join him at his home.” Haggar’s voice cut through the noise. Neither of them said anything as they walked towards her. She handed Keith the restraints and blindfold, nodding towards Lance.

Lance was shaking as they waited for Lotor. It was the same room as the last time he had been in the prince’s home. Keith took his hand, but still didn’t say anything. It was a welcome reminder that he wasn’t alone, but it also reminded him that Keith had been shown exactly what happened to him the last time he was in the room.

“Hello boys.” Lotor was wearing a silk robe, and Lance assumed nothing else. Both of them tensed as he walked towards them. “You’re both so beautiful.”

He grinned when they said nothing, moving to sit on the bed. “We’ll start on the bed today.”

The two of them walked towards him, their hands still gripping each other tightly. Keith was the one that spoke, glaring at him. “You’re the only one getting any pleasure out of this, how do you want us?”

“You’re so pliable today, _Keith_.” Lotor wrapped an arm around Keith’s waist while the boy winced at hearing his name from the man. He pulled Keith close as he ran a hand down his chest. “I think I’ll be able to keep that promise to my sister, what do you think?”

“You really don’t want to know what I think, Lotor.”

Lance could see that there was something, something very dark in Keith’s eyes. It sent a nervous shiver down his spine.

“Oh, I really do.” Lotor’s shit eating grin sent another shiver down Lance’s spine.

“Someday, I will kill _you_.” There was no hesitation, no question that Keith meant those words.

“But not today.” Lotor wagged a finger in Keith’s face before letting him go and grabbing something off the small table next to the bed. It was a small silver rod, it had small ridges along it and ring at the top. Lance had no idea what it was, but when Lotor looked at him, he figured it was for him. “Come lay next to me, face up.”

Keith gave his hand another squeeze before Lance crawled on the bed, closing his eyes tightly. He gasped as he felt Lotor’s hand grip his dick, then a drop of something cold and wet at the slit.

“Don’t… not to him…” Keith’s voice was a little shaky and Lance couldn’t help but piston his hips up when he felt the end of his rod touch his slit.

“Spitfire, you can either hold his hips down, or shove this in. Which can your conscious take?”

Lance opened his eyes, finding Keith’s staring back into his, when there were hands holding his hips tightly. He whimpered and tears came to his eyes as he felt Lotor sliding the rod into his dick. It felt… surprisingly good, but he wanted it to stop, he wanted it out.

“I’m sorry.” Keith said when Lance tried to buck up again. The grip was so tight, but Lance loved having bruises from Keith’s hands on his hips, it meant that it wasn’t from anyone else.

He tried to say something but he let out a groan when Lotor’s hand ran up and down his dick a few times.

“It looks good in you, Baby Blue.” Lotor chuckled, the bed shifting when he got up. As he disrobed, he instructed them to move to how he wanted them. Keith straddled over Lance’s hips, facing away from him, their dicks touching. Lance was on the edge of his bed, his legs being lift up over Lotor’s shoulders.

Lance couldn’t see Lotor’s new jewelry around Keith, but he felt something small and metal touch his hole. He reached for Keith’s hands, gasping as he felt the metal tugging at his rim as Lotor started pushing inside of him. Keith gripped his hands tightly.

He watched as hands wrapped around Keith and Lotor pressed closer to him. When he could tell that Lotor was kissing him, he forced himself to look away. Tears were in his eyes again when Lotor was in to the hilt, he’d almost forgotten how it felt to be stretched by him. The metal that was now enhancing the dick pressed into his walls uncomfortably, making it twice as painful.

He couldn’t control the noises that came out of him as Lotor thrusted into him. Lotor kept whispering instructions into Keith’s ear, and Lance could see how tense the other boy was. Keith’s hands on his dick was driving him crazy, especially when Lotor made him play with the rod in his dick. Everything was too much, and Lance needed to cum but that thing in him was keeping him from doing it.

When Lotor finally came, Lance was sobbing. The piercing pulling at his rim when Lotor pulled out, it would’ve been what sent Lance over the edge if he could’ve cum. Keith moved quickly to wipe away his tears and shush hum.

“How did it feel? Seems like you enjoyed yourself.” Lotor chuckled. “Though, the plug was probably distracting from my new piercing.”

Lance sobbed, turning his head to get more touch from Keith. “Please…”

“Please what?” Lotor touched his dick, drawing a whimper from Lance.

“Let me cum… please…”

“Not yet, but you will cum, don’t worry.” Lotor grabbed Keith and pulled him away from Lance. “Now, you fuck him, then we’ll let him cum.”

Whimpering again, Lance reached for Keith and nodded at him. Keith nodded back.

As soon as Keith came inside of him, Lotor pulled the plug out of Lance. Lance was dizzy by how hard he came.  Keith held his face carefully, kissing his tear tracks as he orgasmed.

“Now, Spitfire, you want to feel my new jewelry? You were the first one to see it.” Lotor nibbled on the boy’s ear. “And who knows, maybe someday you’ll get one of your own. Lance seemed to like mine.”

Lance reached up for Keith when the other boy groaned, signaling that Lotor had pushed into him. Keith kissed him, hard, only pulling away when Lotor grabbed his hair.

“How’s it feel?”

Keith closed his eyes tightly, tears falling down his cheeks. “It… It feels good.”

Lance held Keith tightly as him and Lotor came at the same time. Lotor was nuzzling into Keith’s hair, whispering something.

“Now, you two take a short break. I have a few more things up my sleeve.”

Lance could tell that Lotor was far away, but he didn’t care, he just held Keith. Keith buried his face in Lance’s shoulder. “You okay?”

“Yeah… as much as I can be.” Lance took a shuddering breath. “What about you?”

“N-No… I-I… I hate when…”

“You prefer it when it doesn’t feel good…”

“Just admit that you like the pain, Keith. No one knows you better than I do, and you like this.” Lotor’s voice was so accusatory. Keith started shaking and Lance held him tighter. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, you’re just hard wired this way.”

“I-I… I’m not…”

“It’s okay.” Lance pushed Keith back, holding his face. “Keith, it’s okay, don’t listen to him.”

“This conversation has been riveting, but I’m ready for another round.”

They went two more rounds on the bed. Keith got his second round first. Lotor pushed him down onto Lance’s dick, and then slid into him too. Lance could see on Keith’s face that it hurt, and after what Lotor had said, that made it even worse. After Lotor and Lance both emptied inside of Keith, Lotor and Keith both came inside Lance.

Lotor pulled them both off the bed, dragging them over to the hook. He left them standing there, on shaky legs. When he came back, there was a whip in his hand. Keith flinched, taking a step back.

“Which one of you wants it?” Lotor held the end out to them. Lance’s eyes went wide as he stared at the handle of the whip.

“You mean…”

“One of you is going to use it on the other.” Lotor’s voice was sing song. “If neither of you take it, then I’m going to do it to both of you.”

Keith’s hand was on his shoulder, and Lance turned to him. The vulnerable look on Keith’s face broke his heart. “It’s okay. Take it.”

Swallowing hard, Lance nodded and took it from Lotor’s hand. Lotor then cuffed Keith and looped the chain around the hook. He walked behind Lance, taking his shoulders to steer him. “Now, Baby Blue, you’re going to keep going until you see that flash of blood.”

The first few flicks barely made Keith wince, but Lotor took Lance’s wrist and guided his hand to make the strikes more meaningful. Lance wanted to throw up when Keith screamed. Lotor moaned like it was the most beautiful sound he had heard.

“I haven’t heard that scream in years. That’s the scream that made him so popular.” Lotor pressed in closer to Lance. “Hit him like that again. A few more screams like that, and I might cum untouched.”

Lance had been crying for a while when he saw the first bit of blood. He dropped the whip as soon as he saw the blood, and before the whip even hit the ground, Lotor was already inside of Keith.

Once Lotor finished, looking more satisfied than at any point in the night, he looked at Lance. “Now, I have one more thing I wanted to do. I’ll be right back.”

A particularly loud sob had Lance moving, despite how much his body protested. He quickly pulled Keith down, gently sent him on the ground. There was nothing to say, so he just sat next to him and held him. Keith looped his bound hands around him, holding him back.

Lotor came back in, a guard pulling a chair with straps following behind him. Lance swallowed hard as he watched Lotor place a case on a table. The last case Lotor had was absolutely terrible, so he couldn’t imagine anything pleasant in that one. 

Lance was pulled away from Keith, being strapped into the chair. He tried struggling, but he was distracted by Lotor hanging Keith back up. The guard was gone once they were both properly restrained.

“Now, Spitfire, tell me…” Lotor walked over to Lance with a thick needle in one hand and some kind of forceps in the other. “How do you feel about men with nipple piercings?”

“Don’t, don’t do this… please…” Keith sounded so desperate.

Lance whimpered when the forceps pinched his nipple. Lotor’s face was close to his.

“You know, body piercings are kind of a family thing, so you’ll be like a member of the family.” He pulled away, focusing on his chest.

“Lotor, please, don’t…” Keith’s voice was so breathy.

Lance just closed his eyes, letting it happen. The more he moved, the more it would hurt. He bit his lip when he felt the needle press into his skin. It was painful, but not as painful as Lance was expecting. It was also over relatively quick.

When Lance opened his eyes again, Lotor was gone and Keith looked like he was on the verge of unconsciousness. He tried to get Keith’s attention, but he just sobbed. They were both left there for a while before a guard came in to take them back to the den.

Once they were back, Lance and Keith spent a very long time holding each other in the shower. Neither of them had anything to say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lotor has a weird obsession with Lance's nipples.


	29. Pleasing the Boss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This makes the top five list of terrible scenes. Be warned.

Keith was rubbing his cheek absently, his eyes closed as the two of them laid there, waiting for another night of rough sex they didn’t want. Lance put his hand on top of Keith’s and pressed closer to kiss him.

“How are your…” Keith grimaced, not wanting to finish his sentence.

“My new nipple piercings?” Lance sighed, closing his own eyes. “Haggar dragged me into her lab earlier to check on them, clean them. It’s apparently going to become a thing until they’re almost healed.”

Very gently, Keith touched one of Lance’s nipples. Lance immediately flinched, letting out a gasp of pain. “Sorry… I guess that answers whether they still hurt or not…”

“You wouldn’t happen to know how long it takes for these to heal, would you?” Lance opened his eyes back up and found Keith staring at him with a terribly sad expression.

“A few months, could be up to a year.” Keith bit his lip, breaking their eye contact. “Are you going to keep them… if we get out of here?”

“I’ll make that decision _when_ we get out of here.” Lance moved his head to try to get Keith to look at him again. “Would you want me to keep them?”

“They’ll just be another reminder of this place.” Keith swallowed hard, looking at Lance again. His cheeks were slightly red. “But… I like how you look with them.”

Lance grinned and kissed him again. “I’ll keep that in mind when I make my decision.”

“But, they probably won’t heal well, even with warning, your clients are going to want to play with them.” Keith frowned at him.

Groaning, Lance rested his forehead against Keith’s. “Figures. Lotor wasn’t allowed to fuck while his was healing, but its fine if I get an infection or something.”

Keith let out a bit of dry laughter, but was interrupted before he could say anything else.

Allura came in, in hysterics as she collapsed down next to the two boys. They both sat up, each taking a shoulder gently, but she brushed them off as she turned to glare at Lance.

“Did you know we were entertaining Zarkon?”

He had almost forgotten about it, and he certainly forgot to mention it to her. Swallowing hard, he nodded. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know if it would be better to…”

“It’s going to be tonight… I-I…” She started sobbing, her entire body shaking. Lance’s eyes went wide as he wrapped his arms around, trying to keep himself from doing exactly the same as her. It hadn’t even been two days since he and Keith had entertained Lotor.

Lance looked up at Keith, who was stiff and pale. He knew Keith thought this was his fault. “One of the first thing Haggar said to me was about how much Zarkon liked blue eyes, this isn’t your fault.”

Keith shook his head, getting off the bed. “I tried to get you, both of you, out of this… I begged Lotor, told him I’d do _anything_ … but…”

“But _that_.” Allura’s tone was cold as she looked up at glare at Keith, who tensed.

“No, even _that_. Even that wasn’t enough to call this off, because it’s out of Lotor’s hands, because it has nothing to do with me.”

Lance could see blood dripping off Keith’s hands, his nails digging into his palms so hard he was cutting into himself. He wanted to know what ‘that’ was, but it was probably the thing Keith wasn’t allowed to talk about, the thing that they were breaking him for.

“Thank you.” Allura’s tone was completely different, so soft and sincere.

“I couldn’t actually do anything.” His shoulders were shaking as he walked towards the door.

Before Keith even made it to the door, Haggar came in. “Baby Blue, Princess, the car is here to take you to see Zarkon.”

Both of them swallowed as they got up. While they were walking towards her, she had told Keith to help her get ready for the trip. He gave Lance one last reassuring smile before he tied the blindfold around his eyes.

Once they were lead inside, they were unbound and stripped down by a pair of women, who didn’t say anything to them before leaving them alone in a luxuriously decorated room. Lance looked around, his heart racing as saw the stains on the chairs and floor, the cabinet filled with weapons and sex toys.

He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked at Allura. She looked even worse than he felt. Lance gave her what gave across as a reassuring nod, but he was pretty sure he was grimacing. There were no words for him to say, and the only things she could say to him would be warnings about what he was about to experience. Keith had already given him a lot of warnings, and Lance had decided he’d take the surprises.

Zarkon came in where a full suit and wearing a scowl. He barely looked at the two of them as he snapped his fingers. Allura quickly moved to stand in front of him, undressing him quickly, folding and setting the clothes down neatly. Once he was naked, he pushed her aside.

Lance swallowed hard as he looked over the man. He was so large, with burly muscles and scars. Zarkon’s dick was soft, but still bigger, longer and thicker, than Lance had ever seen. His ass hurt just looking at it. To make it worse, the barbell sticking through the end wasn’t capped with balls, but spikes. Nothing could prepare him for that.

“So, Baby Blue, we finally meet.” Zarkon ran a finger down jawline with a curious look on his face. “I hope you’re what my son promises.”

Lance quivered as he closed his eyes. He was trying to take calming breaths, but he so fucking terrified that his chest was tight.

“I can see why Spitfire likes you so much.” Zarkon leaned down and left a mark on Lance’s neck. “You’re very beautiful. Lotor hasn’t even marked up much.”

A hand touched his dick and he let out a moan. The worst part of everything was when his body just reacted, no matter how much he hated it.

“Lotor says that you liked the plug he put in your dick. Would you like me to the same thing?” Zarkon’s breath was hot on his neck.

“N-No… please… d-don’t…” Lance sobbed out. He was thrown to the ground and he looked up at Zarkon who was glaring at him. As Zarkon walked to the cabinet, he remembered what Keith had told him. Babbling was a reflex, and Lance was in trouble.

When Zarkon came back, he cuffed Lance’s hands and threw him onto the bed. Lance closed his eyes tightly when his bound hands were attached the headboard. Hands were folding his leg and then a strap was being wrapped around it to keep it out of the way, despite his struggling. Lance let out a moan when a rod was shoved into his dick, it did feel good. Then a ring was secured around the base of his cock. Finally, a large, ridged, plug was shoved up his ass.

Then Zarkon’s hands were off of him. Lance glanced up at him, seeing Zarkon eyeing him up with a pleased grin. Everything was too much, and Lance was already on the edge of cumming. His eyes were instead on Allura, who walked over when he motioned for her to come closer.

Lance turned away when he pushed her onto her knees, grimacing as he heard her make a choking sound and he made a pleasured groan. The sounds only made his own situation worse, it sounded like a porno.

He looked back at them again just as Zarkon threw Allura face first on the bed, her face only a few inches from Lance’s groin. A few pieces of her hair tickled his hip. She looked up at him as he pulled at her, so she was bent over the bed. The noise she made when he pushed inside of her made Lance feel sick.

It seemed to go on forever, and Lance had his eyes closed tightly. His eyes stung from how much he was crying. Allura hadn’t said anything, just kept making pained noise. Not a single sound of pleasure came from her.

When it sounded like it was over, Lance looked at Allura. She was walking away and Lance could see blood running down her legs. He shivered, imagining the pain when it was his turn.

Zarkon’s hands on his body made him look up at the man. He looked so hungry as he pressed closer to kiss and nibble at his skin. Lance couldn’t help but moan at the sensations. His balls were aching with the need to cum.

“Do you want me to let you cum?”

Lance hated the sound of Zarkon’s voice, it felt like someone was taking a grater to his skin. Swallowing hard, he nodded. “Y-Yes… Yes, Lord Zarkon.”

With a huff of laughter, Zarkon started pulling out the urethral plug. Lance groaned at the feeling, but whimpered when it was pushed back in. Zarkon was even worse than his son.

When Lance was finally able to cum, he was sobbing. Zarkon was full out laughing as he pulled the plug out of his ass. Lance didn’t get a chance to prepare himself mentally before Zarkon crawled on top of him and pushed inside.

Lance screamed. The size was tearing at his inner walls and he could feel those little spikes cutting into him. Once he was all the way in, Zarkon was laughing again.

“Listen to that beautiful scream.” He nibbled on Lance’s earlobe as he let his weight settle down on him. Lance was sure he was going to die.

He screamed again when Zarkon started moving inside of him again. It wasn’t enough time to get used to it, if he ever could’ve gotten used to it. Lance didn’t know anything could hurt so much. The pain was too much and he blacked out before Zarkon finished.

Allura screaming was what he woke up to, he could feel the sting of his ass, but he more focused on the noises his friend was making. He looked around and found her being forced to ride him on one of the chairs. Once he found her, he looked away. It would be a while before the two of them would be able to look at each other after this.

Lance flinched when he felt something cold and metal touch his skin after Zarkon had finished with Allura again. He looked down and saw a knife just barely making contact with his chest. There wasn’t enough pressure to draw any blood, but Lance’s heart was racing as he watched it move across his chest.

“How do you think Spitfire would react if Princess returned without you?” Zarkon looked honestly curious, and Lance closed his eyes tightly. He imagined Keith breaking down completely, giving in to whatever they wanted from him, or worse. Lance was breathing heavily as the direction of the knife changed, going down now.

When the blade touched the ring around his cock, Lance flinched. The movement was just enough to feel the slightest cut, right at the base of his dick. He made a whining sound, and Zarkon groaned. Lance bit his lip when he felt lips right on the spot that was now bleeding. The blade was traveling the length of his dick, and he wanted to buck away, but a hand was keeping his very still.

The blade was gone, and so was Zarkon’s presence next to him. He opened his eyes and tried to take more calming breaths, but his chest just burned painfully with each intake of air. Before he caught his breath, Zarkon was straddling his shoulders. His massive dick in Lance’s face.

Lance turned away, closing his eyes again. There was an odd sound, almost like a gun being cocked. He froze when he felt the barrell of that gun touch his temple.

“Suck.” Zarkon said simply, pressing the gun closer to his head.

Nodding, Lance did as he was told. The spikes cut his cheeks, and even his throats. It burned, and the burning sensation only got worse as the precum built up in his mouth. Lance was sure that he was going to choke to death at several points. Zarkon pulled his dick out and came all over his face as Lance coughed.

“Now…” Zarkon put the gun in Lance’s mouth, making him stop coughing. Lance looked up at Zarkon, knowing that the fear was so obvious on his face. “You might be even better than Lotor said. My son has been holding out on me.”

Lance sobbed around the gun in his mouth.

“If you weren’t already on reserve for someone dear to me, I’d claim you for myself.” Zarkon sounded so disappointed as he pulled the gun from Lance’s mouth and moved off of him. Lance let his head fall to the side as he sobbed a few more times. “Such a shame... such a waste.”

Lance’s eyes went wide and his entire body tensed up when he felt something at his ass. The barrel of the gun was pushing into his wrecked hole. “No… no… you can’t… don’t… please… don’t…”

A hand was pressed over his mouth firmly, and the sobs were muffled as the gun was pushed even further inside of him. The hand didn’t move as Zarkon pistoned the gun in and out of him. Despite all the pain, and the fear, Lance came. Only then did Zarkon pull the barrel out of him.

“I think I might love you, Baby Blue.” Zarkon chuckled as he moved his hand off Lance’s mouth and dropped the gun fall next to Lance’s head.

After Lance felt Zarkon move away, he heard a door open and shut. A few moments later, he heard Allura start full out sobbing. He felt so numb, so broken. Keith was going to do something stupid, and Lance wasn’t going to have the strength to even try to stop him.

By the time someone came to release him and move him, he had passed out again. He was in and out as he covered up and then moved to what he was sure was a trunk of a car. When he was taken out, it didn’t take long before he was being passed off and he heard a familiar voice. Keith sounded so wrecked, but Lance didn’t have the energy to even open his eyes.


	30. Don't Let Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... all 40 chapters are officially written for this installment of the series. It went by so fast. Now I just need to post them all for all you wonderful sadomasochistic freaks who I love dearly. Wow....

Lance opened his eyes wide a groan when he felt water start hitting his body. Hands were holding him up gently, and he guessed they were Keith’s hands before he completely registered the face in front of him and the voice comforting him.

“H-Hey…” Lance grimaced because it hurt to talk. Keith let out a relieved sigh as he gripped Lance a little tighter.

“You’re going to be okay.” Keith’s voice sounded so broken, and Lance wanted to say something or do something to reassure him. He hurt too much to do anything other than nod and let his eyes close again.

“No, no… stay with me. You lost a lot of blood…” Keith pulled him a little closer. “He really messed you up.”

“Yeah…” Lance pressed his face into Keith’s shoulder, bringing his arms up to wrap around Keith.

“I’m going to clean you out, let me know if it’s too much.”

Lance let out a gasp of pain when he felt Keith push in a finger. He bit down on Keith’s shoulder as he opened him up, tugging at the already ripped tissue. When Keith finished, he ran his hands up and down Lance’s back, repeating that ‘it was okay’.

“Where’s Princess?” Lance said when Keith turned off the water.

“She rinsed off quickly then went to get high.” Keith ran his hands through Lance’s wet hair. “Do you want me to…”

“Just sleep.”

Keith picked him up and carried him to his bed. Lance reached for him once he was lying down, and Keith took his hand as he sat on the ground next to the bed.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“Don’t let go.” Lance mumbled as he let his eyes flutter close again. He felt fingers carding through his wet hair and lips gently touching his knuckles as he fell asleep.

The next time he woke up, he was out of it. It didn’t feel like just the grogginess of coming out of sleep, it felt like he was high. He wasn’t in a bed, instead on a cold metal table. For a moment he wondered if he was dead, in the morgue, but the fact that he was face down seemed odd.

“Welcome back to the world, Baby Blue.” Haggar’s voice cut through his foggy thoughts. He turned his head and found her frowning at him. “Lord Zarkon did quite a number on you, had to sew up your walls.”

Lance grimaced and tried to push himself up. He didn’t feel any pain, from his ass or his mouth which both seared with pain when he fell asleep. The drugs were too strong and he couldn’t work his arms properly.

“It means, unfortunately, you won’t be working again until you’ve healed up.” Haggar ran a nail down his back. “Princess is next to get checked out, I imagine both her holes are wrecked.”

He’d have company while he recovered, but Allura and him didn’t have the same relationship as him and Keith, and he didn’t think they’d be much comfort to each other.

Lance gritted his teeth, trying to get up again.

“Of course, that means you’ll have to make up for your time off when you’re all better.” She flicked her hand and he was being picked up, thrown over one of the guard’s shoulders without much care. He let himself dangle there, hoping that Keith would still be in the barracks when he was thrown on his bed. They passed Allura being escorted to Haggar’s lab, she was shaky on her legs and didn’t even look at him.

“I got him.” Keith said as he approached the guard. Lance looked at him, and tried to smile at him. He gasped when he was dropped off the guard’s shoulder. His feet touched the ground, but his torso was caught by arms.

“He’s all yours Spitfire, well, you know what I mean.” The guard winked at both of them and then walked away.

Keith was breathing heavily, his arms shaky as he redistributed the weight on them. “You okay?”

Lance nodded, pressing his face into Keith’s shoulder once he was more securely held by the other boy. Keith pressed a kiss to his temple and carried him back to his bed, setting him down gently and curling up next to him.

“Not in a talking mood?” Keith eyes were locked with his. Lance just nodded again, pressing a little closer. “I understand… If you want to talk about it, or don’t want to talk about it, I’m right here, okay?”

Closing his eyes, Lance touched his lips to Keith’s for a short moment. He brought his hands up to run through Keith’s hair, letting a smile fall on his lips.

They laid like that until Keith had to leave for the night. Neither of them said anything, and it was nice, to just lie with Keith and hold each other. When they got out, they could do that for days without anyone interrupting them, or worrying about the next time there would be pain.

He got up after Keith left and immediately regretted it. The drugs had worn off and the pain was back. It had been easy to ignore the pain while he was doing nothing, but the movement made it so much worse.

Allura was lying on her bed, it looked like she was sleeping. He walked over, just to make sure she was still breathing. Her eyes fluttered open. “Baby Blue… why… you haven’t said anything all day.”

“I just don’t want to talk to him about what happened…” Lance rubbed the back of his neck, sitting on the edge of her bed, wincing as he did. He wasn’t facing her, but she reached out and touched the small of his back. “Is it always like that, with Zarkon?”

“No. He’s never actually did anything to me with that piercing in… and he’s never done that with the gun before.” The bed moved as she sat up. “But, you’d have to ask Spitfire if…”

“How can I ask him that? It’s…” He didn’t know what it was, but he still didn’t want to do it. “Are you and Spitfire the only other people Zarkon’s fucked?”

“Yeah, the only ones still alive.”

It was a while before either of them said anything else. Lance closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths before asking her. “Do you have any spare drugs, painkillers?”

“No, sorry… but…” She paused when footsteps started approaching them. They both turned and saw one of the guards that supplied drugs standing behind them with a grin.

He held out a handful of pills. Lance swallowed hard and looked up at him. “I can’t give you anything right now.”

The guard walked closer and grabbed Lance’s hand, putting the drugs in it. “Don’t worry, I’ll take it out of your boyfriend when his shift is over.”

“N-No…” Lance’s hand started to shake, reaching out towards the guard to give them back, but the guard practically sprinted away. He looked down at the drugs in his hand when the guard was gone. There were nine pills, all different colors and sizes.

“Are you going to…” Allura’s hand reached for his, trembling as her fingers touched the pills.

“Take half, then at least he’ll be helping both of it by taking…” Lance turned to her, biting his lip as he let his sentence trail off. With a nod, she took four of the pills and quickly swallowed them down.

He stood up and walked to the bathroom. There was no way he was going to be able to dry swallow, so he stuck his head under the faucet after putting the pills in his mouth. It didn’t matter what the pills were, or what else they were going to do to him, as long as the pain stopped.

When he woke up, there was pounding in his head and his lungs burned. The drugs had worn off and left their after effects. He noticed his hand was being held, and when he opened his eyes, Keith was sitting next to his bed.

“Hey…” Keith turned to look at him with a sad smile. “How are you doing?”

Lance looked away, swallowing hard. His throat was so dry.

“It’s okay, really. It was just a blow job, it wasn’t that bad.” The other boy moved so he was on the bed, looking down at him. “You needed it.”

He closed his eyes so he wouldn’t have to see that look on Keith’s face, that sincere look of affection.

“Do you need more?”

“Later.”

It was the only thing he said to Keith all day. Keith put a few pills in his hand before he left for curtain call. Lance wanted to throw the pills, but the pain was starting to get too unbearable.

Once the barracks cleared, he and Allura sat up and talked about sports of all things. She had also been a cheerleader, so they compared horror stories of flying.

The next day after Keith finished his chore, Lance sat up and talked to him.

“What was it like… when Zarkon fucked you?” Lance picked at the hem of his shirt. The pain wasn’t as bad, but his body was aching for more drugs.

Keith tensed up, looking away. “It hurt, a lot. He’s not really into toying with people, he wants to cause pain and get pleasure, but seeing people squirm, taunting people…”

“How… how often has he…”

“Nine, he’s fucked me nine times.” Keith turned to him. “What did he do to you?”

“He… he had spikes on the end of his piercing… it’s what cut me and Princess up so bad…” Lance closed his eyes tightly. “He fucked me with a gun.”

“He did that to me once.” Keith was shaking now, so much that he was shaking the whole bed. “He made sure to show me that it was loaded, that the safety was off. Fired it, so the barrel was hot. I hoped he pulled the trigger, just so the pain would stop.”

Lance wrapped his arms around Keith, holding him tightly. “I’m glad you’re still here, even if…”

“I know, I’m glad I’m here for you too.”

That night, Haggar came in, inspecting both his and Allura’s mouth. She declared that their mouths were healed enough to give oral for the night.

Two more days and Haggar dragged him and Princess into her lab to take the stitches out. Lance felt like he was floating when he woke up, the drugs Haggar had to give them were more potent than the little pills the guards peddled for blow jobs.

He had one more handful of drugs, the night he was finally getting back to work. Haggar assured him that he was healed, but he knew at least some of it would probably break back open when he got fucked. The drugs were a preemptive measure.

Keith kissed his forehead after he finished blowing the guard and before he took the pills, telling him that it was okay. Lance hated having to rely on drugs, hated that Keith was so okay with it. But he took the pills anyway, telling himself that it wouldn’t happen again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end of this chapter marks the second month that Lance has been enduring all the wonders the Lion's Den has to offer.
> 
> The next ten chapters will be filled with more terrible things happening to our boys, and one last chapter filled with flashbacks.


	31. Darkness for Days

Lance pressed his fingers into the fresh needle mark on the inside of his elbow. One of his clients had been shooting up and offered him some. It made him numb for the rest of the night, which was good because one of his other clients beat the crap out of him.

He looked up when a hand covered his. Keith was smiling at him sadly and Lance swallowed hard.

“Sorry.”

Pressing a kiss to his forehead, Keith sat next to him. He took Lance’s hand in his and squeezed. “Did it help?”

“Yeah.” Lance looked down at where their hands were resting between them.

“Then it’s okay.” Keith’s voice was soft and Lance just closed his eyes. “Whatever it takes to make it better.”

Biting his lip, Lance thought of a reply. He wished that Keith was enough to make it better, but he wasn’t. Before he could say anything else, there were the sounds of a struggle that had both boys looking towards the entryway of the barracks.

Lotor was holding one of the others by her hair, a few guards be behind him shoving even more into the room. Lance’s eyes went to the gun in Lotor’s other hand and tensed up, his hand squeezing Keith’s tightly.

“Now, Candi here was caught trying to get out.” Lotor cocked the gun as everyone in the room stopped, staring at him with wide, nervous eyes. “It’s been a while since we’ve had someone try to run.”

Lance looked up at Keith as the boy stood up, his hand pulling away from Lance’s, despite the tight grip. He reached towards him urging him to sit back down.

“Oh, Spitfire…” Lotor’s gaze went to Keith as he grinned. He turned the gun in his hand so the handle was being offered out. “Did you want to do it?”

“Don’t do this… you don’t have to kill her.” Keith was glaring at Lotor, his shoulders shaking slightly.

“There are rules, and we might be more lenient with you, but everyone here needs to be reminded that there’s no escape, not for them.” Lotor pulled Candi closer to him, and she just sobbed as she apologized and begged for her life. “So, if you’re not going to take the gun, sit back down.”

Keith stood there for what seemed forever, his eyes locked with Lotor. Lance could feel the tension in the room, which only increased when Keith slowly lowered himself to sit next hm. His hand was instantly snatched back by Lance’s shaking hand.

“Say goodbye to Candi everyone.” Lotor was holding the gun properly again, pressing the barrel against her temple. Lance was sure no one was breathing in the room as Lotor slowly pulled back the trigger. When the shot was fired, echoing in the room, several people screamed.

Lotor released his grip on Candi’s hair, her body falling limply to the ground with a thud. He handed the gun to one of the guards and wiped at the blood on his face. When he turned to leave, he paused.

“Spitfire, when was the last time you spent time in isolation?”

Keith’s hand tightened its grip on Lance’s. Lance swallowed and glared at the back of Lotor’s head. “He didn’t do anything! You can’t just…”

“I can. That’s why I’m standing here, and you’re sitting there.” Lotor chuckled, waving a hand dismissively. He turned his head to look at one of the guards. “Put Baby Blue in the hole too, we two for a reason.”

As Lotor walked out, guards walked towards them. Keith stood up, looking down as a guard grabbed his arm. Lance tried shrugged off the guard the took his arm, but he was slapped across the face. He tasted blood in his mouth.

Lance glared at the guard, very aware of how still Keith was beside him, until the guards yanked them apart and their hands were no longer linking them. Keith looked at him and desperately reached to Lance.

“Blue…” Keith sobbed out as the guard pulled him even closer to him, farther from Lance.

Lance swallowed hard as he reached back, tears coming to his eyes. The guard struck him in the face again.

“It’s going to be okay Blue, we’ll see each other before you know it.” Keith said as he was pulled from Lance’s view. Lance looked at the guard defiantly, no longer resisting physically.

He was pushed into a room, just like the one he had been put in before. His face was shoved against the wall and the guard was dropping both of their pants. Lance closed his eyes tightly as he waited for it to be over.

Once the guard pulled out, Lance stayed against the wall, panting heavily. He winced when he heard the sound of the door shutting and locks engaging. When he caught his breath, he hit the wall until he was out of breath again.

After he exhausted himself, he slid down to sit on the cold floor. He couldn’t see anything in the dark, but he still tried to look around. There was no way to tell the passing of time, or know how long Lotor was planning on letting him rot. Lance just wanted Keith.

It had been two or three days, Lance couldn’t be entirely sure, before a small portion of the door was opened, letting in just enough light to stink his eyes and for him to see that a small tray of food was being slid into the room.

Lance rushed towards it and reached for the food in the dark. He felt tears roll down his eyes as he ate the stale bread and drank what he thought might’ve been piss. The hunger was too much for him to care though.

By the time that Lance was fed again, he was hallucinating. He could hear faint whispering and was imagining shapes moving in the dark. It was obvious to him that what he was seeing and hearing wasn’t real, but he had to keep reminding himself so he wouldn’t go chasing the shapes or the noises, or try to talk to them.

He was sure that it had been over a week and Lance was shaking as the voices grew louder, they were starting to be familiar. Some were welcoming, like his mother’s or Hunk’s, and some were mocking, like Keith and Pidge’s. He needed Keith, the real Keith, not the one threatening him with cruel actions and making fun of all his insecurities in his mind.

The door opened about a day after he started clawing at his skin, seeing if feeling something would help calm the voices in his head, the painful images he could ignore. He took his a while to register that the door was fully open and there was actually a person standing there.

When he stood up his legs were shaky with disuse. He needed drugs, drugs and to cuddle with Keith. The guards grabbed him and half pulled him back to the barracks. He collapsed on his bed. The light was still hurting his eyes and he barely registered that the guards were telling him that he’d be working that night. He still hadn’t made up for his time healing from Zarkon, and now he had more overtime on his plate.

“How long?” He asked when Allura approached him. His voice sounded so rough. He hadn’t said any words while he was in isolation, but he had screamed a few times. It drowned out the voices for a little while.

“Nine days.” She reached out with a shaky hand. He looked up at her and saw that she looked terrible.

“What’s wrong?” Lance looked away, expecting it to be related to his and Keith’s stint in isolation.

“The guards… they haven’t been allowed to give out drugs while you were…” Letting out a small sob, she sat next to him. “I need…”

He nodded, not knowing what to say. Apologizing would just be cause for everyone else to blame him. “Me too…”

Three more days passed, before Keith was released from isolation and the guards happily started peddling their drugs again. Lance was busy, he had been too busy to do much of anything, when Keith actually came back, but when Lance heard whisperings of Spitfire being back, Lance sprinted to the barracks.

Keith tensed when Lance hugged him tightly, but he quickly relaxed and hugged Lance back. “Hey, I’m sorry… this is…”

“It’s not your fault. You didn’t do anything.” Lance rested their foreheads together.

“That’s your opinion. But I heard about the drug ‘shortage’.” Keith bit his lip, his eyes darting around the room to where some of the others were trying to make up for their time without drugs.

“If anyone wants to fight you, they’re going to have to go through me.” Smiling at him, Lance cupped Keith’s cheek. “Don’t worry.”

Sighing, Keith pressed into the touch. His eyes fluttered closed.

“I need a shower, you want to join me?”

“Please.”

When they got out of their long shower, one of the guards was standing by the end of Lance’s bed, a filled syringe in his hand.

“Baby Blue.” He grinned and Keith pulled Lance closer to himself. “The boys and I wanted to thank you and Spitfire, not being able to hand out drugs for a while… everyone was ready to give their all to get some more.”

Lance looked at the syringe, and Keith’s grip on him loosened. “What’s the catch?”

“No catch, just a free helping. We can’t give any to Spitfire, but Blue, you’re using now right?”

Nodding, Lance slipped his arm out of Keith’s hands and walked over to the guard. He held out his arm, his inner elbow up. The needle slid in and Lance closed his eyes when he felt the liquid start mixing with his blood.

“Next one won’t be free though.” The guard winked at him and then walked away, only be stopped by one of the others.

As he sat down on his bed, Lance started sobbing. Keith sat next to him, pulling him close and shushing him.


	32. Desperately Clinging On

“You never told me what happened to you when you tried to escape.” It had been a few days since they had been back from isolation, and it had been the first time since then that they both had a moment free to talk.

Keith rested his head back on Lance’s shoulder, taking the hands that were wrapped around his waist. “You sure you want to know?”

“Yeah, I want to help bare the weight of everything you’ve been through. I understand if you don’t want to talk about it though.”

“The first time, I only made it across the street. I was in isolation for almost three weeks.” Keith’s voice was a little shaky. “Every few days, when they gave me food, they’d come in to beat and fuck me. They didn’t say a word.”

“That’s terrible.” Lance squeezed the Keith’s hands and closed his eyes.

“It wasn’t much different than anything else I’ve been through.”

“How long had you been here when you tried to get out?”

“The first time, I’d only been here a few weeks, the second time it was after the first year.” Keith took a few deep breaths and Lance turned his head to press a kiss to Keith’s temple. “I made it to a point where I knew where we are. What they did, it’s the worst thing I’ve experienced here.”

Lance kept a tight grip on Keith’s hands as he waited for Keith to continue. He hated hearing about Keith in pain, but he wanted to know so he could help Keith through it later, when they got out.

“They broke my arms and my legs, all three bones in each.” Keith’s voice hitched and he started shaking. Lance wrapped his arms tighter, gently shushing him. “And they kept me strapped down while I healed, and while they still…”

“I’m so sorry Keith. Fuck, I wish…” Lance felt himself start to tremble too as he continued holding Keith close against his chest.

“Don’t. Don’t apologize.” Keith’s voice was barely a whisper. “It’s not your fault.”

A nervous laugh escaped from Lance’s lips. “How is it not? It’s my fault you’re here. If I hadn’t…”

Keith pulled out of Lance’s arms to turn to face him. His eyes were wide. “You blame yourself, because I was taken going to see you? You’ve blamed yourself this entire time?”

Biting his lip, Lance looked away. “It _is_ my fault.”

As he pressed closer, Keith took Lance’s face in his hands. “Lance, look at me. It isn’t your fault.”

Lance looked at him, seeing a conflicted look go over Keith’s face. “Then why do you look like…”

“It isn’t your fault. They were… they weren’t looking for just some random person when I was taken…” Keith closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. He shook his head and tears started falling down his cheeks.

As he wiped at the tears on Keith’s face, Lance pressed their foreheads together. “Hey, hey. It’s alright. What?”

“I can’t… I can’t…”

“You can’t…” Lance inhaled sharply through his nose. Keith wasn’t allowed to talk about why they were trying to break him, why everything was so much worse for him. “They were looking for _you_.”

Keith nodded, just a small jerk of his head. He buried his face into Lance’s shoulder and Lance hugged him tightly. He wanted to ask why, he wanted to ask what happened the day he got taken, but they were all probably things that Keith wasn’t allowed to tell him.

When curtain call came, they were instructed to go straight to one of the client rooms. Lance squeezed Keith’s hand as they walked. He had almost forgotten they had another group of people wanting them both scheduled. After the way the last time they were together went, he wasn’t looking forward to it.

Lotor was standing in the middle of the room talking on the phone, a coil of rope in one of his hands. He barely glanced at them before tugging at the collar of his shirt and making a twirling motion with his hand.

With a huff, Keith started taking off his clothes. Lance did the same, looking away from Keith once they were both standing there naked.

Once Lotor had hung up on the phone, he moved a closer to the bed and waved them over. “You two getting yourself thrown in the hole made me have to push back this special, so you’ll be entertaining them a little longer than planned, otherwise I would have had to give them a partial refund.”

Lance bit his lip, wanting to yell that he and Keith did nothing to deserve being put in isolation. Keith was tense next to him, so he probably was keeping himself in check too.

“I need you two to kneel on the bed, facing each other.” Lotor looked down at the rope, messing with it in his hands. “And put your hands together comfortably, they’re going to be bound together for a long time.”

Keith got onto the bed first holding out a hand to help Lance up. They looked into each other eyes as they put their hands up between them. Lotor hummed as he wrapped the rope around their wrists, keeping their hands tight together. The rope was scratching at their skin uncomfortably, there would definitely be painful welts on their wrists when it was over.

“You’re both so beautiful.” Lotor ran hand down each other their chest. Lance winced when Lotor’s hand brushed at his nipple and Keith glared at the man. “We don’t charge people enough for either of you honestly.”

Once Lotor was gone, Lance moved a little closer to Keith. “We’re going to be okay.”

Nodding, Keith tried moving his hands. He grunted in frustration when he was able to do whatever he was planning on doing. Lance frowned. They wouldn’t be able to hold each.

It wasn’t long before a group of men came in, all commenting on how the two of them looked and what they were planning on doing while they undressed. Keith closed his eyes tightly and Lance pressed their foreheads together.

Lance made a small surprised noise when Keith kissed him, but he closed his eyes too and kissed him back hungrily. Whatever was about to happen, him and Keith were together and nothing was going to change them.

He felt the bed sink down and hand on him, but he just kept his eyes closed, kept kissing Keith. A small moan left his mouth when him and Keith were pressed closer together, their hands caught between their chests and their dicks barely touching.

“Fuck, that’s so hot.” One of the men said as Lance felt a dick sandwich itself between his ass cheeks.

Keith pulled his lips away to groan, pain scrunching up his face. The man behind Keith had gone straight for his hole. Lance kissed along the tear trail that was starting to form on Keith’s cheek.

When the man behind Lance shoved his dick in him, Lance gasped, dropping his head to Keith’s shoulder. Keith pressed his cheek to the top of Lance’s head, whimpering as they were both slammed into.

Once those men were done, Keith was pulled back so he was sitting on another dick with barely a moment to spare. Lance was pushed forward, now they were laying on top of the man inside of Keith. He pressed his lips to Keith’s as he was pushed into.

Lance and Keith both sobbed as they came, trying to move their hands to hold each other’s faces, but just making the rope chafe against their skin.

It continued for hours, either being pushing together so tight that their chest barely had room to expand or pulled so far apart Lance was sure his shoulders were going to dislocate. When they were too close, the fear of hurting each other stopped them from thrashing, trying to get them off. When they were too far, the pain and the desperation for each other kept them from trying to fight.

When it was over, they were laying on the floor, curled up around each other and staring in each other’s eyes. Their hot, quick breaths mingled between them as they tried twisting their hands in their bonds to hold them.

Lotor eventually came in, pulling them up by their bound hands. He pushed them onto the bed and started unfastening his pants with a growl. They both swallowed hard as they waited for him.

They got separate showers, rubbing their wrists when they finished and sat back to back. Keith rested his head back against Lance’s as he reached back, hoping to get a hold of Lance’s hand. Lance happily took it and let their entwined hands rest next to them.

“You should go back to your bed.”

“In a few minutes. Let me have this a little longer.” Keith’s voice was soft and Lance couldn’t help but smile.

“You’ll always have me, no matter what.” Lance squeezed his hand and rested his head back on Keith’s shoulder. “You’ll always have me.”


	33. Developing a Habit

When the lights went out, they reached for each other as usual. Lance was having trouble sleeping. It had probably been a few hours when he got up and left the barracks. There was a guard, one of the few that Lance had never been touched by, standing against the wall, one of the others with the worst addiction, Sizzle, was on her knees in front of him.

The guard looked over at him, groaning. “What are you looking at Baby Blue?”

“I need something to sleep.” Lance swallowed hard.

Grinning, the guard pushed the girl away and threw a few pills on the ground in front of her. She shoved them all in her mouth at once and then moved away quickly. Once she was gone, Lance looked at the guard. “What’ll it take? To get what I want?”

“Your ass.”

With a nod, Lance braced himself against the wall, closing his eyes tightly. He took a deep breath as his shorts were yanked down. There was blood from how hard he bit his lip when the guard pushed into him.

When it was over, Lance had a syringe to help him sleep. The guard even threw in some pills for the next day. As soon as Lance laid back in his bed, he was out.

Keith was shaking him awake, and he groaned as he came out of his dream. It was good dream, of his little sisters. He was so groggy, and he wasn’t sure if it was the drugs or the fact that he was still tired.

“What?” Lance rubbed his eyes as he sat up, the memory of his dream fading quickly as he blinked awake. He made a surprised noise when Keith hugged him tightly.

“I’m sorry… I-I…” Keith sounded like he was on the verge of tears.

“What’s wrong?” Lance hugged him back.

“Sizzle overdosed sometime last night, and then I saw the pills sitting on top of your chest…”

Lance pushed him back to cup his cheek and give him a reassuring smile. “I just needed something to sleep, those were thrown in extra. I wasn’t going to take them, not today.”

Keith nodded, pressing their foreheads together. Lance glanced around, frowning at what he saw. Everyone was already lounging around. The chores were already mostly done, it would probably soon be… “How long did you let me sleep?”

“I tried waking you up a few times. It’s why I was so worried.”

“I’m okay, well… I’m not any less okay than I was.” Lance kissed Keith’s nose. “How long was Sizzle here?”

“She was only here for a few weeks before you showed up.” Keith closed his eyes tightly. “She was already an addict when they dragged her in off the streets.”

“You okay?”

“I tried really hard to protect her, she was just seventeen…” Keith shook his head. “Everyone else convinced her to stay away from me, they fed her habit…”

“Why, why her?” Lance carded his fingers through the other’s boy hair.

“Because she was just a kid… they don’t usually grab people that are underage, so… when young people show up…”

“You were only 15.”

“Somedays it feels like I’m still that kid that was terrified, powerless to fight back but trying so hard.” Pressing his face into Lance’s shoulder, Keith took a few deep breaths. “I’m so tired, tired of watching people suffer here.”

Lance held him tightly as he watched a few guards came in to remove the body. Haggar walked in while they were leaving, barking at everyone to do their chores before she walked to the end of Lance’s bed.

“Prince Lotor wants to see the two of you in his office.” Haggar grinned at them before leaving, yelling at the others to start moving.

“What do you think he wants?” Lance reached for Keith’s hand as he got up.

“To torture us, to use us to get himself off.” Keith huffed, squeezing Lance’s hand. “Just like always.”

Lotor wasn’t wearing a shirt and was playing with a filled syringe when Lance and Keith walked in. He barely looked at them as he motioned for them to come closer. Without saying anything, he took Lance’s arm and shoved the needle next to the previous needle marks.

Lance held his breath as he felt the drugs enter his bloodstream. Keith was tense next to him, his eyes narrowed at Lotor.

“Such a shame about Sizzle. So many people loved her.” Lotor hummed as Lance retracted his arm to hold his elbow. “I was going to have some fun with her tonight, but… You two are much more fun.”

Closing his eyes tightly, Lance leaned into Keith slightly. The drug was making him dizzy, a slight twinge of pleasure coursing through him. Keith put a hand on the small of his back.

“I can’t keep you all night, you both have some VIPs scheduled.” Lotor’s voice was low. “Blue, I want you to prep Spitfire for me.”

Nodding, Lance opened his eyes. There were colored spots in his vision as he turned towards Keith. Keith was smiling at him encouragingly. Lance licked his lips before pulling off Keith’s shirt and kissing him. Arms were wrapping around him as he pushed his hands into Keith’s shorts.

A small moan came out of Keith’s lips went Lance pushed at his hole. It was getting so hard to think and the sounds coming out of Keith’s mouth were making it even harder. Kissing down Keith’s jaw and his neck and his chest, Lance moved onto his knees. He pulled off Keith’s shorts, his fingers still inside of Keith, and wrapped his mouth around Keith’s dick. Strong hands gripped his shoulders as Keith let out a surprised gasp.

“That’s enough, come ride me Spitfire.” Lotor groaned.

Lance moved his mouth off of Keith and looked up at him. He could see that he had Keith right on the edge. Standing up, Lance kissed Keith softly before Lotor pulled him onto his lap.

The world was spinning as he watched Keith on Lotor. Keith’s moans and pained whimpered were making him feel so hot.

The time between Keith reaching for him as he came and him cumming was a blur, he vaguely remembered Keith’s hands on him and Lotor’s lips on his chest. When he came, he very aware of the cock inside of him. When he came down from the high of his orgasm, the world blurred out again.

His body was aching for my drugs, and it was in pain. Keith was hovering over him, his hands gently running up and down his side.

“Hey, you okay?”

Lance put his hands over his mouth as he tried sitting up. He felt so nauseous. Closing his eyes tightly, he shook his head as he tried to remember exactly what Lotor had done to him.

“Hey, it’s okay.”

He felt Keith pushing something into his hand, pills. His eyes sprung open, searching Keith’s face as his fingers closed around the pills.

“They’re the ones from earlier. I didn’t do anything to get you more.” Keith smiled at him as he cupped his cheek.

Lance got off the bed and went to the bathroom to take them. His arms were shaking as he braced himself against the sink. It didn’t take long for the drugs to make him feel better, or for him to think they were making him feel better.

“We should hurry, we’re already late for curtain call.” Keith’s voice made him look up. He nodded as he walked towards him, cupping his cheek.

“I’m sorry.”

Half way through the night, Lance approached the bar, the bartender from that first night smirking at him as he handed him a handful of pills and a glass of what was probably alcohol. He took them without question.

“I heard you took more drugs during the night.” Keith said as they showered. Lance looked away. He was so strung out there was no way he was going to sleep, unless he got something to counteract it. “It’s okay. I just want you to talk to me about it.”

“I don’t think I can stop. I _need_ them now.” Lance pressed close to him, letting out a sob. “I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay, just please, don’t… don’t kill yourself with it.”

Lance grabbed something to sleep, at the cost of his ass again. The next morning, he grabbed more to keep him up through his chores. Pills to feel good at the start of the night and a shot to kill the pain near the end.

It kept happening, and Lance knew that Keith was watching him carefully as he took the drugs. Keith never told him not to, but he would take his arm, telling him to give himself some more time between doses. Lance didn’t want to, but he listened to Keith.


	34. Initiation Rituals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can we talk about season 3 for a second? Because I just finished watching it and I don't know how I feel.

Lance had just finished pushing the plunger of the needle in his arm when a guard was calling for everyone to go to the dressing room. It wasn’t time for curtain call. They had all just finished their chores.

He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. It had been almost a week since Lance had joined the rest of the addicts. Most days he tried to limit how much he took, just a dose before bed and another after his chore, but some days he couldn’t get enough. Some days the guards cut him off. He hated needing the drugs.

When he sat up, he found Keith staring at him. He hated how sad Keith looked. Every time the other boy watched him pop a pill or empty a syringe, Keith looked more and more empty. Keith kept telling him that it was alright, but Lance knew it wasn’t. Nothing was alright.

“Come on.” Keith held out his hand to Lance. Lance took it, kissing him once he was standing.

“I’m sorry.” Lance had been telling him that a lot lately.

Shushing him, Keith ran his fingers gently across his cheek before pulling him to the dressing room with the others.

Lotor was sitting cross legged on one of the makeup tables, a grin on his face. Lance was pretty sure he was hallucinating until he looked and saw that Keith looked just as confused as he felt.

“Tonight, the Lion’s Den will be closed to our regulars. We will be instead rewarding the newest members of the Galra for passing all their initiation rites.” Lotor was seemingly bouncing as he spoke. “There are eight new members who will be joining the gang after tonight, so only eight of you are needed. Congratulations to everyone that doesn’t have to work tonight.”

The room was silent when Lotor finished talking. Everyone’s eyes were fixed on Lotor, waiting to see who would be getting fucked and who got to sit around the barracks.

“To make it fair, I put all your names into this box.” Lotor picked up the small box next to him and shook it. The very faint sound of paper moving could be heard as he moved his hands around. He grinned as he pulled out the first slip. Three names in and he looked at Lance. “Baby Blue. Oh, and Spitfire.”

Lance swallowed hard and Keith put a hand on the small of his back.

Once the eight names were called, Lance looked over at Allura. Her name hadn’t been called. He was jealous of her, but he was going to congratulate her when Lotor left them leave.

“Remember to show our new members an especially good time.” Lotor winked as he got off the table. He walked out and the room exploded with chatter, everyone who had the night off planning for their rest and expressing their sympathies to the others.

“Blue.” Keith’s voice was very quiet, like he was trying to keep the others from hear. “This isn’t a reward for them. It’s the last test.”

He pressed a little closer. “So, if they don’t fuck us?”

“They’ll kill them, make us watch, beat us.” Keith put a hand on the back of Lance’s neck as he pulled him into a hug. “Be careful tonight, okay?”

“I will.” Lance kissed his cheek.

Allura was standing there when they broke apart. She was frowning. “I’m sorry guys, it’s…”

“We’ll… we’ll get through it.” Keith nodded at her. “We always do.”

The guards came to collect the unlucky eight a few hours later, instructing them to come naked. Everyone was in their own rooms. Lance didn’t get a chance to get more drugs the rest of the day, but the withdraw wasn’t as bad as usual. Hopefully he’d be able to get through it without them.

He had just sat down on the bed when the door opened. His eyes snapped up to see a woman standing at the door, her eyes looking him up and down. Biting his lip, he looked away.

“Aw, you’re shy.” She chuckled as she walked closer to him. Her finger reached out to tilt up his chin. His eyes locked with hers. She looked so hungry as she leaned in to kiss him.

His eyes closed as she continued kissing him. Her hands grabbed him, placing them on her body. He let his hands roam her body, starting to tug at her clothes. The sooner she was naked, the sooner she’d fuck him and the sooner he’d get back to Keith and grab some drugs to put him to sleep.

It seemed like they were making out like that forever. Lance’s hands on her as she writhed on top of him. He was pretty sure his fingers were working her to her second orgasm when she took his wrists and pined them above his head. Her other hand stroked him a few times to get him to full attention. Sometimes the drugs would keep him from getting it up, which was only a problem when he had female customers.

Luckily, it wasn’t a problem since he wasn’t currently high. He made a desperate noise as she slowly sank down on him. Every woman that had fucked him had put a condom on him before, but they were paying customers. This one was going letting him inside of her raw.

No matter how much he didn’t want it, it felt so good, so warm and wet around him. He groaned as she started moving. It wouldn’t take long for him to come like that.

She came just before he did, her orgasming around him pushing him over the edge. He laid there panting as she got off of him quickly and gathered up her clothes.

“What a reward.” She bent over him and kissed the head of his dick once she was dressed. He whimpered at the feeling on his sensitive member.

When she opened the door, he sat up and saw that there was a man standing at the door, blocking her from leaving. He swallowed hard as he looked at the man who was looking down at the woman.

“How was he?” The man said, sending a shiver down his spine as eyes met his.

“Wonderful. How much do you usually charge for him, because he’s the best dick I’ve ever ridden.”

The man hummed, pushing her aside and moving to stand next to the bed. He ran a finger up Lance’s dick, gathering the mixtures of his and her juices. Seemingly satisfied, he looked at the woman again, who looked confused. “Congratulations, let’s get you your assignment.”

Grinning, the woman started to walk out of the room.

“You’re free for the rest of the night, Baby Blue.”

Lance nodded, getting off the bed and following the man out. Keith was two rooms down, so he looked towards it to see the guard standing in front of the door was facing an open door. Keith was done too.

He waited, watching the guard walk in. All he wanted to do was lay down with Keith. They only had the one customer, so even though they didn’t get the night off, it was shorter than usual.

His stomach turned and his heart skipped a beat when Lance saw the new gang member that walked out of Keith’s room. He was absolutely sure he was hallucinating as he took a few shaky steps forward.

The man looked over at him, the guiltiest expression that Lance had ever seen etched on his face. Lance felt sick and faint, but he just kept walking.

“Your boyfriend’s in rough shape in there. You might need to carry him out.” The guard’s words made him break eye contact and move a little faster. His focus had to be on Keith and not on… on _Shiro_.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah. That's a thing that just happened.
> 
> I'm excited to cry like a little bitch while I write this scene from both Keith and Shiro's points of view. Ugh, it's going to hurt, a lot.
> 
> Also, I've written the first chapter for the "what are Pidge and Hunk doing" story. I can post it now if you guys are so inclined, after that train wreck of a chapter.


	35. The Ultimatum

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're so close to the end of this part of the story. Its so crazy!

Lance ran his fingers through Keith’s hair as he waited for his latest dose of drugs to kick in. It had been a few days since Lance walked into the room after Shiro… after Keith and Shiro. He hated thinking about it, but the image of Keith laying there completely immobile, tears streaming down his completely expressionless face, his big brother’s cum dripping out of his ass was forever etched in his memory. As soon as he got Keith asleep after he found him, Lance threw up more times in a row than he thought possible.

Keith hadn’t said anything, to anyone. Not to Lance, or Lotor, or the guards. Lance was worried, especially because he was sure there was nothing he could do to help. Lotor, whether he had realized it or not, had finally found Keith’s breaking point.

He wished that Keith would talk to him. Talking would mean that he would be okay, that he’d be able to get past what had happened. Lance also wanted to know what happened, why Shiro was there. He assumed that he was undercover, that he was going to be back with a swat team to get them all out, but he’d feel better hearing that for sure.

Fingers touched where the needle scars were accumulating on the inside of his elbow and he looked down. Keith was touching each mark gently, his eyes… were filled with longing. Lance swallowed hard as he paused the movement of his own hands, understanding what that look meant.

Leaning over, his face closer to the head in his lap so he could whisper. “How much trouble do you think I’d get in if they caught me sneaking you drugs?”

Keith closed his eyes. He wanted something to forget what happened. “Don’t.”

“Okay. Let me know if you change your mind. I’d do it no matter the consequences, if you really need it.” He started running his fingers through his hair again. Lance liked when he couldn’t remember the events of a night because of the drugs. If he was in Keith’s situation, he would try anything to forget everything.

“I know.”

It was another few days before Lance heard Keith’s voice again. Lotor had stopped making Keith perform because he couldn’t dance on the stage like he did before, but it meant that he spent more time on a bed or strung up.

Lance was pretty sure that the boy in his arms had fallen asleep when two of the girls ran in, breathing heavily. They looked panicked, and it quickly spread through the room.

“Haggar is seeing someone right now! They’re interested in _buying_.” The two said, alternating as they were still catching their breath. “They’re going to in here soon to check the stock.”

The tension in the room was palpable. Lance felt sick. One person had been sold while he had been there, but it wasn’t by someone who was shopping, it had been someone that had specifically wanted her.

Not long after the two had finished talking a guard came in, yelling at everyone to undress and stand at the ends of their beds. Everyone but Spitfire.

Keith sat on his bed, his knees against his chest. Lance glanced back at him, trying to smile at him reassuringly. He remembered something that Zarkon had said, that he was on reserve for someone. Hopefully it wasn’t the person interested in buying that day.

Haggar came in with an ugly man, talking to him quietly. She kept motioning around the room. Once she was done talking, he moved around the room. He fondled a few of the others as he worked around the room, sticking his fingers inside some of them.

Then he stood in front of Lance.

“Beautiful eyes.” The man murmured, his eyes roaming Lance’s body hungrily. It was a look that Lance had become accustomed to. “Peircings, interesting. Lovely dick…”

The man twirled his finger to signal Lance to turn around. Lance whimpered when a finger pressed into him. “Nice and tight.”

Humming a few times, the man manhandled Lance so they were facing again. He pulled a knife off his belt and ran the tip down Lance’s chest. Lance couldn’t help that his body was shaking or the moan that escaped his lips. “Wonderful, you like knives.”

“I’ll take you, I think.” The man was grinning as he reached out for Lance’s face with his free hand.

“Get your hands off of him.” Keith’s voice was close to a growl as he gripped the man’s hand tightly.

With a scoff, the man tried to shake Keith off. When he couldn’t he pointed the knife at Keith. “Let go.”

“You’re not taking him anywhere.” The look in Keith’s eyes was dark, dangerous. Lance felt terrified by it.

The man started laughing, waving the knife around. “A lowly whore like you is going to stop me?”

Lance took a step back when Keith started moving, fast. His hands were both going for the hand with the knife, taking it from the man easily. It didn’t take Keith long to adjust his grip on the blade to stab the man in the neck, blood spraying over both of them as the man made the most terrible gurgling sound Lance had ever heard. Screams from the other whores and Haggar yelling for guards filled the room.

But Lance’s focus was on Keith as he pulled the knife from the wound. The man reached for his neck, but fell to the floor before his hand made it to the gushing blood. With a loud crash, the knife fell out of Keith’s hand as he was breathing heavily. There was nothing, no expression on Keith’s face as he took a step back.

Swallowing hard, Lance reached out for Keith but the boy just shrugged out of the touch and it broke Lance’s heart. Keith had just killed a man for him and he wouldn’t let him touch him.

Lance took another step forward when a pair of guards grabbed Keith, who didn’t resist at all. He only looked away from Keith when he heard Lotor making a noise as he walked closer. He kicked the body and then looked at Lance.

“So, Spitfire will kill for you.” Lotor grinned at him. “Fascinating.”

“Leave him alone! Leave him out of this.” Keith’s voice was shaky as he yelled.

Lotor didn’t even seem to notice that Keith had spoken as he moved to one of the guards, taking the gun off the belt. He fiddled with it as he spoke again. “What would you do for Spitfire, Baby Blue?”

“ _Anything_.” Lance didn’t even need to think. He absolutely meant it.

“Really?” Lotor seemed very interested as he pointed the gun at Lance. Keith was yelling and struggling against the guards, but Lance just looked at Lotor. “If I told you that if you let me kill you, he’d go free, he’d never have to see a member from the gang again. All you have to do is…”

Lance closed his eyes and cut off Lotor. “Pull the trigger.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, that's a cliff hanger.
> 
> The last flashback of this installment is next, then we move on from the cliff hanger. Based on the chapter numbers of the other flashbacks, this should have been the last one, but this cliff hanger is so stressful that I wanted to make you suffer a little longer but putting this before the flashback.


	36. Flashback #3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My favorite thing about the Flashback chapters is that I don't have to come up with witty titles.
> 
> 1) Lance, Hunk, and Keith are 13; Pidge is 10.  
> 2) Lance and Keith are 13.  
> 3) Lance and Keith are 14; Matt is 18; Shiro is 19.  
> 4) Lance is 19.

“And next time I’m going to cream you.” Lance pointed at Keith with his fork.

“What are you talking about?” Keith asked, pausing in putting his food in his mouth.

“Gym class. He hasn’t shut up about you beating his time yesterday for the mile.” Pidge said as she turned the page of her book.

“Uh?” Keith didn’t look any less confused.

“He’s been talking about it while you were with him too.” Hunk had his mouth full as he spoke, but it was barely muffled.

“Oh… yeah, I sort of tune him out when he starts talking about making something a competition.” Keith shrugged, finally putting his food in his mouth.

“It is a competition!” Lance threw his hands up. “How could you beat me in a race? You don’t run in martial arts! I run several miles a day in soccer!”

“It was only a two minute difference.” Keith rolled his eyes at him.

“Yeah, and two minutes is still a win! Just like the one point I got higher than you on the essay that was due last week was a win for me!” Lance stabbed his fork down into the pasta on his tray.

“What is your obsession with being better than me?”

“It’s not an obsession!”

“It’s an obsession.” Hunk and Pidge said in unison, not looking up from what they were doing.

“It’s a rivalry! Keith and Lance, neck and neck.” Lance groaned, rolling his eyes now. “It’s totally normal.”

“If both parties agree to the rivalry. When you just decide that you have a rival, it’s kind of weird.” Hunk did look up at him this time and Lance frowned.

“Really weird actually.” Pidge reached for her milk without looking.

“What?” Lance glanced at Keith.

Keith sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well… I guess a rivalry could help us both try to do better.”

“Really?” Lance practically launched him across the table, beaming at Keith. Keith just nodded. “Awesome! We get our bio tests back today, and I bet I wiped the floor with you!”

Laughing, Keith pointed his fork at Lance. “Oh yeah? Because I studied for that test with Pidge, so…”

“Yeah? Somehow I doubt that you guys actually got any studying done.” Lance crossed his arms, looking towards Pidge.

She shrugged. “He has a fair point there Keith. We looked at like three pages of my notes and a diagram in the text book, then we played Smash Bros for four hours.”

“Exactly! Hunk and I spent days studying for that test!” Lance jabbed his finger towards Keith.

Keith just smirked. “I guess we’ll just have to see in sixth period, won’t we?”

They both laughed so hard when they got their tests back and they got the same grade. Their teacher had to tell them several times to shut up while she was going over the answers to the most missed questions.

*-*-*-*-*-*

Lance was sure that he had just gotten to sleep, it had taken a while to get the right amount of covers. The heat of his bed partner’s body was almost stifling, but it was also nice. When he was woken up, it took him a few minutes to identify exactly what had woken him up.

“No, I didn’t mean… please…” Keith’s voice was muffled and panicked. His body was thrashing next to him as he let out a few pained grunts. “Stop…”

He was suddenly very awake, flicking on his bedside light and turning to look at Keith. The other boy’s face was contorted in pain and glistening with sweat. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Lance very gently grasped Keith’s shoulder. “Hey, Keith, buddy… it’s okay.”

Keith made a few more pained noises and Lance shook him, speaking a little louder. “Keith, wake up. It’s just a nightmare.”

It took a few more attempts to wake him before he opened his now tearing eyes with a surprised gasp. Keith took a few deep breaths as he looked around, shame bleeding into his face as the panic seeped away. He sat up and brought his knees up to his chest. “Sorry.”

“Hey, hey, Keith, it’s okay.” Lance reached out to brush his hair out of face with a smile. He knew Keith had nightmares. Sometimes he came to school with dark circles under his eyes and Lance had heard him and Shiro talking about them. It was the first time he had one while he was at Lance’s house though. “Are you okay?”

“I will be. Just…” Keith closed his eyes tightly with a grimace. He was shaking. “It’s hard to get back to sleep after… after the nightmares.”

“Is there anything that helps, talking about it?” Lance put his hand on Keith’s back. It was a gentle touch, but went Keith seemed to calm down some with the touch so he started rubbing his back.

“You don’t want to hear about all the terrible memories that I dream about, trust me.” Keith glanced at him, a vulnerable look on his face. “I-I… I don’t want you to…’

“I know that your life has been bad Keith, if talking about it will help, I want to listen.” Lance scooted a little closer, looking at him seriously. “We’re friends Keith, I want to help.”

With a whimper, Keith turned towards Lance and rested his head on his shoulder. “You know how difficult I am. Not every foster family can handle it, and some of them set me off… I can last in a fight because I learned how to take a beating really young.”

Lance wrapped his arms around Keith, pulling him closer. “That isn’t happening anymore, right? You called the Smiths crazy once… they don’t…”

“They’ve never laid a hand on me, don’t worry.” Keith pressed a little closer, wrapping his arms around Lance’s neck.

They stayed like that for a while. Lance kept running his arms up and down Keith’s hands until his breathing completely evened out and the tension released from his body.

“You going to be okay to try going back to sleep?” Lance rested his head against Keith’s as he glanced at the clock on his dresser. It was almost four in the morning.

Keith whimpered, his body tensing up again.

“Hey, it’s okay if you can’t… we could watch some dumb videos online or something…” Lance pulled back and smiled at him. He was so tired, and Keith looked even more tired than he felt.

“No, if… if you keep holding me I should be able to…. It’s okay if you don’t want to…”

“It’s cool, whatever you need.” Lance smiled at him, moving away to turn the light back off. When he turned back to Keith he was laying back down, facing away from Lance.

Lance laid next to him, pressing his chest against Keith’s back and adjusting the covers over them. He wrapped an arm around his torso and pulled him back a little closer. “This okay?”

“Yeah, it’s… it’s great.” Keith mumbled as he interlocked their fingers together. “Thank you.”

“Of course.” Lance was glad that Keith couldn’t see how red his face was. “Does Shiro hold you when you have nightmares?”

“Sometimes. The Smiths get really weird when they find us, they’re paranoid that there’s something happening…” Keith squeezed his hand. “But, it’s not like this.”

“And what is this like?” Lance pressed his face into Keith’s hair.

“You’re the first person who’s ever given a damn about me, other than Shiro… and you’re really important to me…” Keith’s voice trailed off and then he yawned.

Lance was smiling as he felt Keith’s breathing pattern change as he fell asleep. “You’re special to me too, mullet.”

*-*-*-*-*-*

It was the first time that Lance was spending the night at Keith’s since he moved in with Shiro. Keith was in the living room talking to Shiro. Lance was sitting on Keith’s bed, texting Hunk and Pidge while waiting for him to come back.

Keith groaned as he came back in, shutting the door behind him. His face was bright red and he was holding a small box in his hand. Lance raised his eyebrows at him as he walked over and sat the box on the bedside table.

Lance could feel his own face heating up as he stared at the box, the box of condoms.

“He totally got the wrong idea.” Keith covered his face and laid back across Lance’s legs. “I mean, even if we were fucking, I definitely wouldn’t want to do it while he’s home.”

Lance let out a huff of laughter as he sat up to look down at Keith. “So, Shiro thinks we’re having sex?”

“Worse. He thinks we’re _dating_.” Keith scoffed, moving his hands to look up at Lance. “Though, I was running out, so now I don’t have to buy more myself.”

“Dude, you just bought some a few weeks ago, how are you out already?” Lance looked down at him with his brows together.

“I’ve just used them.” Keith put his arm over his face as he sighed.

“Does Shiro know how much sex you have?” Lance poked his cheek. “I mean he’d be okay with it, if he’s giving you condoms, right?”

“He knows that I’m having sex, but not how much…” He chewed on his bottom lip for a while before he spoke again. “I think he’d probably flip his lid if he knew how many different guys…”

“Can I ask you a question?” Lance asked as he laid back on the bed.

“I have a feeling that you’re going to ask me anyway, so shoot.” Keith sighed, turning his head so he was looking at Lance.

“Why do you sleep with so many guys? I mean, you’ve been doing this for a while, and I just…” Lance groaned, looking away. “I’m not judging you… I’m just…”

“It’s just sex Lance, and it doesn’t really matter who…”

“But, don’t you want it to… to mean something?” Lance threw his hands up and made a motion because he was having trouble figuring out what he wanted to say.

“‘Mean something’? Lance, it doesn’t have to mean anything.” Keith sat up and moved so he was looking down at Lance now. “It just has to feel good.”

“I’ve seen you after you’ve been fucked, you don’t always look like it feels good.” Lance frowned up at him.

“Not all of the guys I hook up with aren’t always perfect gentlemen.” Keith shrugged. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“You’re right, I don’t understand. When I have sex with someone, I want it to be with someone I care about…” Lance looked away. “I know it sounds corny, but…”

“It… it sounds normal, but it’s not… it’s not what I’m going to get.” Keith moved as if he was getting off the bed, but Lance grabbed his wrist.

“Why do you think that?” Lance grabbed his face and forced Keith to look at him.

“Who would want someone like me?” Keith put his hand over Lance’s, closing his eyes. “After everything that I’ve been through, the way I am…”

“Keith, buddy, just because you’ve had a rough past, it doesn’t mean that you’re not worthy of love.” Lance rubbed his thumb against Keith’s cheek. “You’ve got a lot more to offer than you give yourself credit for.”

“That’s what Shiro always says.”

“And yeah, maybe it’s hard to believe him because he’s your brother and he sort of has to be supportive, but I really mean it Keith.” Lance smiled at him. “You’re a great guy. I’d… I’d be happy to date a guy like you.”

Nodding, Keith moved his face a little closer to Lance’s. Lance felt his heart start to beat a little faster in his chest as he let his eyes flutter closed.

Then the sound of someone moaning, muffled through the wall. “Sh-Shiro… don’t stop…”

Keith groaned, letting his head fall on Lance’s shoulder as Lance started laughing. “So, Matt’s here too?”

When another moan, this one sounding more like Shiro, was made in the other room, Keith got off the bed and banged on the wall. “Come on guys, other people live here too you know!”

Lance winced when he heard a large crash and then some swearing. Matt’s voice was apologizing and Shiro had started laughing.

Keith turned back to Lance, his face bright red. “Sorry about that. Why don’t we watch that movie you said you brought over?”

Lance nodded, getting off the bed to rummage through his bed.

After the movie was over and they settled under the covers, Keith rolled so they were face. “Hey Lance.”

“Yeah Keith?”

“Thank you, for saying what you said…” Keith reached out and took Lance’s hand. “But, our friendship means so much to me… I don’t want to fuck this up. We’re just kids, and I don’t want to lose you over something like…”

“Our friend is really important to me too.” Lance closed his eyes, squeezing Keith’s hand. He thought that he finally thought he had his chance. “Good night Keith.”

*-*-*-*-*-*

It had only been a month since college had started. Lance had made a few new friends, most of them from his introductory biology course. His roommate was really weird, so he avoided his room anytime he didn’t need to sleep.

He had been flirting with several people, but it was mostly just for fun. Until Plaxum, the cutest of his three friends from bio asked him to dinner off campus, just the two of them.

After the date, which went really well despite it being his first ever date, he Skyped Hunk and Pidge telling them all about it. Both of them seemed even more excited about it than he felt, which he accounted to them assuming he was finally moving on.

A few weeks later, the two of them had been hanging out a lot, holding hands and even cuddling, she kissed him. His eyes went wide with shock and she pulled away when he froze up.

“I-I’m… I’m sorry.” She covered her mouth, looking away. “I thought that we were…”

He shook his head, breaking himself from his thoughts. “No, no… I was just surprised. Could we try again?” He smiled as he reached for her cheek.

She smiled back and leaned in. He leaned in to meet her lips. The kiss started hesitantly, slowly. But it didn’t take long for it to get heated as they pressed closer together. When they broke apart, they were both grinning like idiots.

“I really like you Lance.” She bit her lip as she stared in his eyes. “Does this mean that we’re official?”

He hummed and nodded. “Definitely.”

Her hand found his and she interlocked their fingers. “Awesome.”

“So, what do we do, now that we’re boyfriend and girlfriend?” Lance pressed their foreheads together. He really liked her, but he didn’t actually know much about her. Most of the time she walked about school, either college or high school. She probably didn’t know much about him either, he spent most of his time talking about his awesome little sisters.

She laughed, but then looked confused when Lance looked at her seriously. “What, haven’t you dated anyone before?”

“Nope. You were the first person I ever went on an actual date with.” He shrugged. “I made out with a few people in high school, but not anything more than that.”

“Oh… well, nothing really changes, except now we just get to call each other ‘boyfriend’ and ‘girlfriend’.” She smiled at him softly and kissed him again. “And we can do that whenever.”

“Okay, I can get behind that.” He grinned, laying back on his bed and pulling her with him as he kissed her. She made a surprised noise against his lips but she happily made out with him.

Just a little over a month later and they were hanging out with a group, trying to pick a movie. He was in control of the remote, Plaxum curled up next to him.

“How about this one?” Lance bit his lip as he looked at the screen.

“Magic Mike? You’re kidding right, dude?” One of the guys scoffed.

“It’s actually a really good movie, the hot guys stripping is just bonus.” Lance grinned as he the remote at the guy.

“What?” The whole group said in unison, with varying degrees of shock and disgust. Plaxum moved out from under Lance’s arm to looked at him.

“Lance, are you… _gay_?” She said it was like a dirty word.

“No.” He rolled his eyes. “If I was _gay_ , I wouldn’t be with you, would I?”

“But you just…” Her face only looked more confused.

“You ever hear of bisexuality? I like guys _and_ girls.” He sighed and stood up, dropping the remote into one of the girls’ lap. “I actually have to go.”

“No, Lance it’s.. it’s okay, I just didn’t know…” Plaxum reached for him, but he just climbed over the rest of the group and headed back to his own dorm.

A few days later, Plaxum sat next to him. “It’s really okay, that you’re bi, I just didn’t know and it was kind of shocking…”

“It really shouldn’t have been. I’ve talked about banging our lab professor for an A enough times.” Lance sighed as he rested his head back.

“Have you… been with any guys?”

“Nope, but I know that I definitely like them.” He turned his head to look at her. Keith briefly cross his mind and he felt his heart skip a beat.

She hummed, looking like she was deep in thought for a while before she kissed him. “Okay.”

He cupped her cheek and kissed her back.

Every night the next week he woke up from a dream about Keith. He started avoiding Plaxum, seeing her just made him feel guilty, even though he didn’t do anything wrong. But by her texts, she definitely noticed something was up with him. It didn’t take long for her to break up with him.

Pidge and Hunk both tried to comfort him in their own ways when he told them. They didn’t ask what happened, but he could tell that they knew. Keith, Keith happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Funfact: Lance takes notes in a weird web format that only he can understand; he uses a lot of highlighters and colored pens, but they don't actually have any assigned meaning, he just uses them to make the notes more interesting to look at; when he reads text books, he reads every word carefully and highlights entire paragraphs; he studies by turning his weird notes into an outline; he listens to Hispanic pop music while he studies. Hunk takes very detailed notes, trying to write down almost every word from the lectures; he also takes notes on his textbook readings, they're slightly less detailed than his lecture notes but marks page numbers if he would ever need to go back; he uses flashcards to study; he likes to study in complete silence. Pidge takes sparse notes, writing down only what she feels to be absolutely essential which is most definitions and words with weird spellings; she uses textbooks exclusively as a lap desk under her laptop; when she studies, she rereads her notes, if she doesn't have something she knows she needs to know written down she asks Hunk for his notes on the subject; she watches anime while she studies. Keith's notebooks are mostly filled with doodles, mainly of cool knives or random patterns, a few actual notes are scattered between drawings; he skims through textbooks but doesn't have any note taking system for them; he usually studies with someone else to make use of their notes, but he doesn't actually study often; he listens to emo music while he studies. Shiro takes the right balance of notes, but he has terrible handwriting so he can't always read them; he annotates and highlights text books; he makes himself detailed study guides to study from; he usually studies with romcoms or soap operas playing for background noise, he usually gets distracted to yell at them to just kiss.
> 
> Bonus Funfact: Lance went into college Undeclared, but he was leaning between Biology (specifically marine) or international studies.
> 
> Bonus Bonus Funfact: Keith's note taking and study habits are my study and note taking habits.


	37. Cool Down

The sound of a gunshot made Lance tense up, but then sounds continued. Keith’s voice hollering in pain, the other screaming. He opened his eyes, his heart pounding in his chest. Blood was seeping through Keith’s shirt from a fresh wound on his stomach. There was so much blood.

“No…” Lance felt tears start falling down his cheeks as Keith gasped for air.

“Always get agreements like this in writing, Baby Blue.” Lotor grinned at him. He was still holding the gun as he started walking away. “Take Spitfire to Haggar’s lab to get stitched up and then put him in the hole to cool down.”

Lance watched them take Keith away. His entire body was shaking and once Keith was out of the room, he couldn’t take it anymore. He fell to his knees.

His eyes caught something shiny. The knife was still laying on the ground in front of him. He reached for it with a shaking hand, not sure what he was going to do with it.

A hand caught his wrist and he looked up at the person it was attached to. Allura was frowning at him, a disapproving look that reminded him of his mother. He started sobbing and let himself fall into her. She wrapped her arms around him tightly as he cried.

It was a long time before guards came to remove the body of the man that Keith had killed. They instructed a few of the whores to clean up the pool of blood and reminded them that they still had to work.

Lance was still in hysterics, still covered in blood himself. Allura was trying to calm him down, coax him into a shower, but he just wanted… he wasn’t sure what he wanted, but it definitely wasn’t any of the things he was going to get.

Two days passed and Lance hadn’t eaten anything or said anything to anyone. He was so high, but it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t what he needed. Allura and several of the others had tried to talk to him, force him to eat, but he couldn’t. This was his breaking point.

A guard called for him, telling him that Lotor wanted to see him in his office. He got up without a word, stumbling slightly because of the drugs. He stopped dead in his tracks when he walked into the hallway. Zarkon was walking towards him.

His knees were buckling and he had definitely stopped breathing. He felt all the sensations from his time with Zarkon like it was happening all over again. There was a blood and bile taste in his mouth, but he didn’t have anything to throw up. Tears were falling down his cheeks by the time Zarkon looked towards him with a small smirk.

Lance was on the ground by the time that Zarkon had passed him completely. He was dry heaving in between labored breaths. It felt like he was going to die, like he was going to suffocate, like his heart was going to just stop.

He didn’t know how long he was like that, but it felt like hours. It had probably only been minutes. When it was finally over, he looked up and saw Lotor kneeling in front of him.

“Aw, Baby Blue. Is having Spitfire gone affecting you this much?” He reached out his hand and Lance flinched away. “You poor thing.”

“You… you…” Lance’s voice broke. His throat hurt so much, just like the rest of him. “Fuck you.”

“You have, plenty of times.” Lotor chuckled, grabbing Lance’s chin despite him trying to move away from his touch. “And after we finish talking, you will again.”

Lance felt his body wanting to react, wanting to run or break down again, but he didn’t have the energy to do either. He just lowered his gaze as Lotor pulled him to his feet roughly and dragged him into his office.

He collapsed into the chair he was thrown into. Lotor moved over to his table of toys, but Lance focused on forcing himself to keep breathing.

“Your father told me that I was on reserve…” Lance said after several moments of silence. “You wouldn’t have sold me…”

“No. Spitfire reacted before Haggar had a chance to tell him that.” Lotor’s voice was sing song and it only made the panic welling up him Lance worse.

“What’s going to happen to him?” Tears were streaming down his cheeks again. The thought of Keith dying after fighting for survival for four years was heart breaking.

“He won’t be dying, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

It only helped some, but he wanted to know. “But, what are you going to do?”

“That doesn’t concern you Baby Blue.”

“Then what did you want to talk to me about?”

“I wanted to commend you on your courage. Being so willing to die for him, or did you just want to die and had been looking for an excuse?”

“No, it was for him. He’s suffered too much, too long.” Lance closed his eyes.

“You don’t even know the half of what he’s suffered.” Lotor’s voice was closer and Lance just closed his eyes tighter.

“You’re all monsters here.”

“He’d been suffering for much longer than the four years he’s been here.” Lotor’s breath was on the shell of his ear. “Things so terrible that when he told me, I was uncomfortable. And then the things he did to himself, goodness.”

“Shut up. I know how bad his life already was, before you and this place.”

“And now your life is almost as terrible.” Lotor growled. “Would you still die for him, if given the option?”

“Without hesitation.”

“Enough talking, I want to play.”

Lance opened his eyes and looked at Lotor, who was panting already. He swallowed hard and waited for Lotor to do something to him or give him instructions. When he didn’t, he closed his eyes again and pressed his lips to Lotor’s. The sick feeling was back in his stomach as Lotor kissed him back.

It was week, at least Lance thought it was a week, passed and he was called into Lotor’s office. He was so high, he didn’t remember most of what happened. Lotor mentioned visiting Keith in isolation and Lance remembered having something other than Lotor inside of him, but other than that, he woke up very confused in his bed. He just went and got more drugs to stop the pain that was coursing thing him from things he didn’t remember.

When Zarkon requested him at the end of the night a few days later, he did remember. It was vanilla compared to his first time with Zarkon. No toys, no spikes, just the pierced dick ramming into him. He could still barely walk when it was over.

Another week and Keith’s bed was still empty. Lance was still skipping meals. Allura had been successful in forcing him to eat once every few days and limiting his drug use slightly, but he was still in rough shape. He needed Keith back or he needed Lotor to not be joking about giving his life for Keith’s freedom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next one will be pretty short, but it's super important.


	38. Three Little Words

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who just got a job? (Its me) that means that I'll have money to do things and eventually move out of my parent's house, but it also means less time for writing.

Lance was sobering up at Allura’s very firm request when Lotor came in, stopping at the foot of his bed. Lotor just motioned for him to get up and once Lance was on his, Lotor’s hand was wrapping around his wrist and dragging him out of the barracks.

They stopped outside of Lotor’s office, the door was closed and there was someone, a masked woman, standing outside of the door. Lotor opened it and motioned for Lance to go in.

He furrowed his eyebrows together, but he walked into the room. His eyes settled on Keith as the door closed behind him. Keith looked up at him, his face covered in fresh and old blood splatter.

Tears welling in his eyes, Lance ran and hugged Keith tightly. Keith hugged him back, nuzzling into his neck.

“I’m sorry.” Keith whispered.

“Don’t be sorry… just… are you… are you okay?” Lance pulled back, checking him for new injuries. The new blood on Keith’s face didn’t seem to be his.

“I-I… I’m sorry, so sorry.” Keith moved his hands to cup Lance’s face. “I know… I know we said that nothing would change between us, and then I… and now… I’m sorry Lance.”

“Keith, stop apologizing… just… you’re okay and you’re out of isolation now… and…” Lance trailed off when Keith started shaking his head.

“I have to go, I’m sorry. Four years, four years I’ve been fighting this… but I can’t anymore, not when you… when I can save you.” Keith’s eyes were hiding so much pain and Lance started to cry.

“I tried to save you.”

“You’ve always saved me, in more ways than you could ever know.” Keith smiled, and it was so genuine, so heart felt that it made Lance sob. “Lance, I love you, I always have.”

The door opened as Keith pressed their lips together softly. Lotor’s voice interrupted their bubble. “Spitfire, your time’s up. Time to go.”

Lance opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. His voice was failing him as Keith let go of him, turning his back to him. He reached out to him, but the masked woman wrapped an arm around Keith to lead him out.

“Lance, I’m sorry.” Keith said, looking back before he was out of view down the hallway.

He fell to his knees, putting his face in hands. Lotor leaned in the door frame, watching him. “How sweet, but did you get to say it back to him?”

“What did you do?” Lance screeched, looking up to glare at Lotor.

“Me? Nothing.” Lotor looked down at his nails. “But, my father finally gave him an offer he couldn’t refuse. And my little Spitfire was smart enough to get his deal in writing.”

“What deal?”

“You’ll find out.” Lotor moved into the office. Lance flinched when he passed him, but Lotor just moved to sit at his desk and shuffle around some papers. “Now, get out of my office. I have another meeting later today. We have two new whores coming in soon.”

Lance stood up, still crying. He sat down on Allura bed and she immediately wrapped her arms around him, asking what happened.

“He’s gone… Keith, Spitfire… he’s gone.” Lance sobbed into her shoulder.

She tensed. “So, he finally did it.”

“Did what?”

“Became one of them.”

He pulled out of her arms, running to the bathroom and bending over one of the toilets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bye Keith? It was nice knowing you?


	39. Poor Unfortunate Souls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're up on your Disney Princess trivia and you read tags, you might be able to guess the events of this chapter

Lance sat on his bed and nursed his jaw. The guards had come close to breaking it when they slapped him for talking back. He had been talking back, like he hadn’t since he started taking drugs. Thinking back, he wasn’t really sure what he had been saying or why he had felt the need to refuse whatever, but it didn’t matter.

His eyes went over to the two new whores. One male, one female. They looked close in age, and strikingly similar. He thought they might have been siblings, but he didn’t care enough to ask them or the others. They had just had their first night and they were holding each other and crying.

Assuming they were siblings made him think of Keith and Shiro. They were both Galra now, and he wanted to know exactly what they were doing and when they were going to be back to get him out. He might even join them in the gang if it meant an end to the pain of the Lion’s Den.

Swearing, he turned and punched the wall. Pain exploded on his knuckles and traveled up his arm. He pulled his hand back to him and looked around. Everyone was staring at him with pity in their eyes.

He knew that he was broken, they had broken him a while ago, but Keith had kept his pieces together. With Keith gone, the pieces were falling apart and so was his rationality. It was mostly anger that was seeping through the ever-growing cracks of his mind, and it was clouding his judgement. He was going to implode and do something stupid.

That night he was back talking a client who kept giving him instructions of how they wanted it. When they finally got tired, they slapped him. He reflexively punched them in the face, hard enough that he heard the crunch of their nose breaking from the blow. The client screamed as he fell to the ground. Guards rushed in and grabbed both his arms. He struggled, yelling for them to get off.

When they let go, he was in the isolation box. He screamed as he banged on the door as he heard it being locked.

It wasn’t even a whole day before the door was opened. Lance got up off the floor, glaring at Lotor and Haggar who were both staring at him with blank expressions.

“I think everyone’s finally had enough of your mouth, Baby Blue.” Lotor yawned and stretched. “I told you that we’d take care of it.”

Lance swallowed hard as he took a step back to press against the wall. Two guards were grabbing him, lifting him off the ground and carrying him despite the fact that he was kicking. Haggar chuckled as she turned, motioning for the guards to follow her.

“It’s going to be a shame though.” Lotor said as he moved out of the way of the guards. “Spitfire is never going to hear you say those sweet little words back to him, even when he gets you out of here.”

Once they were in Haggar’s lab, Lance was shoved onto a metal table and was quickly strapped down tightly. There was barely enough give for Lance to move, but he was still struggling against the restraints.

Haggar came over with a syringe in hand, a sick grin on her face. “This will keep you from moving, but it’s going to do nothing for the pain.”

“Wait… wait…” Lance tried moving away when the needle got close to his arm. He barely felt the prick of it through the scar tissue there. Slowly, he stopped being able to move. The only muscles he could move were his eyes, and even that was difficult.

Without a word, Haggar started messing with his mouth, putting something to hold it open. His eyes followed her hands as she approached with a scalpel in hand. He wanted to kick and scream, but he couldn’t do either.

The pain was immense. The cutting feeling deep in his throat was accompanied by a burn, the feeling of blood running into his lungs making him need to cough. The drugs were keeping him from even doing that.

When she was finished cutting, she held up a small jar that had two small pieces of bloodied flesh. “Your vocal cords. They certainly have gotten a lot of use, haven’t they?”

Lance looked at the jar and felt the desperate need to sob. After she set the jar down, she was going back towards his mouth with a needle and thread. The sting of each pass of the needle should have caused him to jolt, but his body did nothing.

Her hands were covered in blood when she looked down at him again. “All done.”

He passed out after that.

Lance woke up back in the barracks. His throat burned so much, and his muscles ached. He covered his eyes and opened his mouth, planning on screaming. Air passed over the wounds in his throat, making the pain worse, but he didn’t make a sound.

Sitting up, his lips were moving and he was trying, but there was nothing. The mantra of ‘no, no, no’ was silent.

“Baby Blue. Hey, you’re okay…” Allura’s hand was on his shoulder firmly and her face was filled with concern.

Shaking his head as tears started falling down his cheeks, he held his throat. His lips were still moving, like if he tried hard enough she’d be able to hear his voice.

“What are you… what did they do to you?” She moved her hand off his shoulder and very lightly touch the hand he had on his throat.

Lance pointed at his throat and then drew an ‘x’ in the air. Her eyes went wide with understanding.

“They… they took your voice.”

Nodding, he pressed his face against her neck. If he could’ve, he would’ve been sobbing.

When his tears had dried up, he went looking for one of the guards with the drugs. He simply nodded at them before turning and pushing his own pants down. Asking for drugs was easy enough without a voice.

He had just finished taking the drugs when one of the guards told him that Lotor wanted to see him. After Lotor was done with him, he made sure to tell him that he liked it better without Lance’s bitching ruining it.

Lance stayed in the shower for an extended time after working that night. A few of the others tried to hurry him during the rush, but he just glared at them. Allura told a few of them off, telling them to wait for another shower.

More drugs, and he was drifting off to sleep. Absently, he reached out for the hand he knew wouldn’t be there. At least they waited until he didn’t have anyone to talk to before they took his voice from him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter for Lance's side of the story. I have half the next one (Pidge, Hunk, and the McClain family during the time of this one) done, 3/7 chapters. I have the first 6 of Keith's finished as well as a few that are his side of this story. And a random assortment of the recovery/happy ending story done. So be on the look out for more pain.


	40. The Raid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We made it to the last chapter. The total time that this fic covered was about four months, four months of hell.

Lance woke up to the sounds of gunshots and yelling. He got out of bed quickly. Everyone else was jumping out of bed, moving towards the bathroom. Opening his mouth to ask what was going on, nothing came out and he blew a frustrated breath out of his nose. Not being able to say anything, he just followed the rest into the bathroom, huddling in a corner. Most of the others were shaking and crying.

He just closed his eyes and waited for it, whatever it was, to be over. His focus was trying to make out the words. ‘Freeze’. ‘Put your hands up’. ‘You’re all under arrest’. Kept being repeated.

The cops. Finally. He started crying too as he realized what was happening.

It was a little while before the gun fire stopped and most of the yelling was the guards and Lotor shrieking that they hadn’t done anything, that everything was one big misunderstanding.

“Hello?” A familiar voice was coming from the barracks. “It’s alright, the fighting is over, you can all come out now.”

Lance stood up and started running towards Shiro. Tears were really streaming down his cheek now. How could he tell the man that he had just missed saving his brother by two days?

“Lance!” Shiro holstered his gun and ran towards him. He pulled him into his arms. “It’s okay, you’re okay.”

He pressed his face against Shiro’s chest, shaking his head as he let out silent sobs. His body was shaking.

“Lance, where’s Keith?” Shiro held him tightly and Lance looked up at him. He looked so desperate as he looked at everyone else as they exited the bathroom.

Lance just shook his head again. Even if he didn’t know what to tell Shiro, he wished he could say something.

“No… don’t… he has to…”

More people were coming in, and Lance heard a few of them mentioning calling in a lot of ambulances. Actual healthcare sounded both terrifying and wonderful. His body probably held nurmerous hidden problems after everything.

‘I’m sorry’. Lance mouthed it to Shiro, hoping the man would understand was he was saying.

“I was too late…” Shiro was crying now, his eyes closing tightly. Lance swallowed hard and hugged him tightly, running hands down his back.

As they stood there, hugging and crying together, Lance knew that cops were talking gently to the others. Reassurances that they were safe and gently coaxing them to follow them out of the den.

“Shirogane, come on…” One of the other cops gently pulled on Shiro’s shoulder.

Lance pulled away from Shiro and wiped his eyes. He was so ready to get out the hellhole. Shiro glanced at the other cop and then back at Lance. He nodded, mirroring Lance’s own motion.

As they walked out, Lance could see that the gang members that were still alive were being dragged out of the building. Lotor was struggling the most, but he stopped when Lance and Shiro walked by.

“It’s a shame, isn’t it? That Spitfire missed this, if he had just waited a few more days, he’d be walking out of here with you. It’s funny, don’t you think, Baby Blue?” Lotor laughed, but Shiro stepped between him and Lance.

“Don’t talk to him, you monster.” Shiro’s voice had a harsh edge that Lance had never heard before.

“I’m the monster? That’s funny.” One of the cops yanked on his arm and he turned to let the man lead him out to one of the prisoner trucks waiting outside.

“How many days exactly did I miss him by?” Shiro asked as he turned back to Lance.

Swallowing hard, Lance held up two fingers. Shiro nodded and closed his eyes tightly.

“We’ll find him. Even if it takes another four years, I found him once and I’ll find him again.” He started walking again and Lance quickly followed him.

Once he was outside the Lion’s Den, he took a deep breath of fresh air. It had been months since he had been outside, and even longer since he had seen the sun. He stood with his arms out and looked up at the sky. It was blue, almost clear with just a few perfectly puffy clouds. What he really wanted though, was for it to be raining.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned around. For the first time, he got to see the outside of the Lion’s Den. It was a large building, and from the outside it looked abandoned. There was nothing else but other abandoned looking buildings around for as far as Lance could see. No wonder it had taken so long for the cops to find it.

“Do you want me to ride with you to the hospital?” Shiro asked. He looked like he wanted Lance to say no, but he also looked so tired. Lance nodded, he needed someone. “Okay.”

They were both sitting on the bench of the ambulance with about three of the others. Lance rested his head against Shiro’s shoulder and closed his eyes when the doors closed and the vehicle started moving.

It was finally over. Truly over. At least it was for Lance.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that you guys enjoyed (in some strange painful way) this story and am really glad that you guys stuck with Lance through all the terrible shit I put him and Keith through. I also hope that you will continue to follow them on their journey of recovery and the other sides to this story.
> 
> As painful as this was, it was also a joy to write, to focus all my negative energy into something that really made people feel something, usually pain. Thanks for sticking with me! Love you all.


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